Field and experimental studies of poxvirus infections in rodents

Data are presented from serological and virological investigations of natural and experimental infections, in rodents, with different poxviruses. The demonstration of poxvirus antibodies (virus neutralizing antibodies, antihaemagglutinins, and precipitins) in the kidneys and/or lungs of rodents from Europe and Africa, and the isolation of poxviruses from them, all indicate that rodents may be poxvirus carriers. Isolates from rodents differed in their properties. Some, from Turkmenistan rodents or from white rats caught near Moscow, appeared to be very close to cowpox virus, while others (from Zaire rodents) were identical to variola-like (whitepox) viruses found earlier in monkeys in the same region. The results suggest that rodents that carry the virus closely similar to cowpox virus might be a source of infection for other animal species.