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Raccoonpox in a Canadian cat
Author(s) -
Yager Julie A.,
Hutchison Lisa,
Barrett John W.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
veterinary dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1365-3164
pISSN - 0959-4493
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3164.2006.00553.x
Subject(s) - cowpox virus , cowpox , cats , virology , orthopoxvirus , polymerase chain reaction , virus , pathology , biology , poxviridae , biopsy , medicine , gene , vaccinia , recombinant dna , biochemistry
Poxvirus infections affecting the skin of cats are extremely rare in North America, in contrast to Europe where cowpox virus is well recognized as an accidental pathogen in cats that hunt small rodents. The virus or viruses responsible for the anecdotal cases in North America have never been characterized. This paper reports a case of raccoonpox infection in a Canadian cat. Biopsy of the initial ulcerative lesion on the forepaw revealed ballooning degeneration of surface and follicular keratinoctyes. Infected cells contained large eosinophilic type A inclusions. Electron microscopic examination revealed virions of an orthopoxvirus, subsequently identified as raccoonpox by polymerase chain reaction and gene sequencing. The cat made a full recovery.