Vaccinia Virus Infection in Monkeys, Brazil | CDC EID

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 6–June 2010

Volume 16, Number 6–June 2010
Dispatch
Vaccinia Virus Infection in Monkeys, Brazilian Amazon
Jônatas S. Abrahão, André T. Silva-Fernandes, Larissa S. Lima, Rafael K. Campos, Maria I.M.C. Guedes, Marcela M.G. Cota, Felipe L. Assis, Iara A. Borges, Milton F. Souza-Júnior, Zélia I.P. Lobato, Cláudio A. Bonjardim, Paulo C.P. Ferreira, Giliane S. Trindade, and Erna G. Kroon
Author affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Abstract
To detect orthopoxvirus in the Brazilian Amazon, we conducted a serosurvey of 344 wild animals. Neutralizing antibodies against orthopoxvirus were detected by plaque-reduction neutralizing tests in 84 serum samples. Amplicons from 6 monkey samples were sequenced. These amplicons identified vaccinia virus genetically similar to strains from bovine vaccinia outbreaks in Brazil.
In Brazil, several exanthematic vaccinia virus (VACV) outbreaks affecting dairy cattle and rural workers have been reported since 1999 (1,2). VACV, the prototype of the genus Orthopoxvirus, shows serologic cross-reactivity with other Orthopoxvirus species and was used during the smallpox eradication campaign (3). Bovine vaccinia causes economic losses and affects public health services in Brazil (4). VACV reservoirs and the role of wildlife in outbreaks remain unidentified. Although some data indicate that VACV strains circulate in rodents in forests in Brazil (5,6), there is no evidence of VACV infection in other wild mammals.

To detect orthopoxviruses in the Brazilian Amazon, we conducted a serosurvey of wild animals in this region. We detected antibodies against orthopoxviruses in 4 mammalian species. Using molecular methods, we confirmed exposure of monkeys to VACV. Although our findings are uncertain in the context of bovine vaccinia outbreaks, we provide new biologic and epidemiologic information about VACV.

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