Cowpox virus in llama, Italy

Abstract

Cowpox virus (CPXV) was isolated from skin lesions of a llama on a farm in Italy. Transmission electron microscopy showed brick-shaped particles consistent with orthopoxviruses. CPXV-antibodies were detected in llama and human serum samples; a CPXV isolate had a hemagglutinin sequence identical to CPXV-MonKre08/1-2-3 strains isolated from banded mongooses in Germany.

Figure 1

A) Skin lesions showing a crater morphologic appearance typical of poxvirus around the anus of a llama from a farm near Calcata (Viterbo) in Northern Latium, Italy. B) Electron micrography image of skin lesion sample showing negatively stained brick viral particle of ≈160–220 nm, consistent with orthopoxvirus. Scale bar = 1 µm.

Figure 2

Phylogenetic tree based on nucleotide sequences of the complete hemagglutinin open reading frame (921 bp) from the llama orthopoxvirus isolate (arrow) and additional orthopoxvirus sequences available in GenBank. The tree has been constructed by using nucleotide alignment, the Kimura 2-parameter algorithm, and the neighbor-joining method implemented in MEGA4.1 software (www.megasoftware.net). Bootstrap values >75 are shown at nodes. CPXV, cowpox virus; CMLV, camelpox virus; VARV, variola virus; ECTV, ectromelia virus; VACV, vaccinia virus; MPXV, monkeypox virus. Scale bar indicates genetic diversity at the nucleotide level.