Natural Vaccinia Virus Infection: Diagnosis, Isolation, and Characterization

Natural infections of Vaccinia virus (VACV)-the prototype species of the Orthopoxvirus genus, from the family Poxviridae and subfamily Chordopoxvirinae-cause an occupational emergent zoonotic disease that is primarily associated with the handling of infected dairy cattle. In humans, VACV infection is characterized by skin lesions, primarily on the hands, and accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever, myalgia, headache, and lymphadenopathy. The diagnosis of VACV is usually performed according to the methods described for other orthopoxviruses. This unit describes the methods utilized to obtain clinical samples, the serological and molecular techniques used for diagnosis, and the isolation methods and techniques used for molecular and biological characterization of the viruses. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.