Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
PLoS One. 2009 Oct 19;4(10):e7428. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007428.
Despite the fact that smallpox eradication was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1980, other poxviruses have emerged and re-emerged, with significant public health and economic impacts. Vaccinia virus (VACV), a poxvirus used during the WHO smallpox vaccination campaign, has been involved in zoonotic infections in Brazilian rural areas (Bovine Vaccinia outbreaks - BV), affecting dairy cattle and milkers. Little is known about VACV's natural hosts and its epidemiological and ecological characteristics. Although VACV was isolated and/or serologically detected in Brazilian wild animals, the link between wildlife and farms has not yet been elucidated.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we describe for the first time, to our knowledge, the isolation of a VACV (Mariana virus - MARV) from a mouse during a BV outbreak. Genetic data, in association with biological assays, showed that this isolate was the same etiological agent causing exanthematic lesions observed in the cattle and human inhabitants of a particular BV-affected area. Phylogenetic analysis grouped MARV with other VACV isolated during BV outbreaks.
CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These data provide new biological and epidemiological information on VACV and lead to an interesting question: could peridomestic rodents be the link between wildlife and BV outbreaks?
尽管世界卫生组织（WHO）于 1980 年宣布消灭了天花，但其他痘病毒已经出现并再次出现，对公共卫生和经济造成了重大影响。天花病毒（VACV）是 WHO 天花疫苗接种运动中使用的一种痘病毒，已在巴西农村地区（牛痘暴发 - BV）涉及人畜共患感染，影响奶牛和挤奶工。关于 VACV 的自然宿主及其流行病学和生态特征知之甚少。尽管 VACV 已在巴西野生动物中分离和/或血清学检测到，但野生动物和农场之间的联系尚未阐明。
方法/主要发现：在这项研究中，我们首次描述了（据我们所知）在 BV 暴发期间从一只老鼠中分离出 VACV（马里亚纳病毒 - MARV）。遗传数据与生物学检测相结合表明，该分离株是引起特定 BV 感染地区牛和人类居民出现出疹性病变的相同病原体。系统进化分析将 MARV 与其他在 BV 暴发期间分离的 VACV 分组。
结论/意义：这些数据为 VACV 提供了新的生物学和流行病学信息，并提出了一个有趣的问题：家庭周围的啮齿动物是否可能是野生动物和 BV 暴发之间的联系？
