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Updated: Dec 24, 2025
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Rapid, Seamless Generation of Recombinant Poxviruses using Host Range and Visual Selection
Published on: May 24, 2020
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Parapoxviruses, little-known zoonotic pathogens
Maël Bessaud1, Olivier Ferraris2, Audrey Ferrier-Rembert2
1Institut de recherche biomédicale des armées, Unité de virologie, BP73, 91223 Brétigny-sur-Orge, France, Direction régionale du service de santé des armées, Quartier Général-Frère, 33, bd Yves Farge, 69007 Lyon, France.
Virologie (Montrouge, France)
|April 9, 2020
Summary
Parapoxviruses cause contagious skin diseases in livestock, with potential for human infection. Further research is needed to understand their epidemiology and genetic diversity in wild animals.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Virology
- Zoonotic Diseases
- Molecular Epidemiology
Background:
- Parapoxviruses are double-stranded DNA viruses within the Poxviridæ family.
- They are responsible for contagious cutaneous diseases in farm animals, leading to outbreaks.
- While generally mild, lesions can be aggravated by secondary infections, potentially causing mortality in livestock.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current understanding of parapoxviruses, focusing on their impact on livestock and humans.
- To highlight gaps in knowledge regarding parapoxvirus epidemiology, host range, and ecology in wild animal populations.
- To emphasize the underestimated genetic diversity within the parapoxvirus genus.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing studies on parapoxviruses.
- Analysis of clinical manifestations and transmission routes in livestock and humans.
- Examination of epidemiological data and genetic diversity studies.
Main Results:
- Parapoxviruses cause mild, self-limiting cutaneous lesions in livestock, but secondary infections can be severe.
- Zoonotic transmission to humans (farmers, veterinarians) can occur, with variable clinical presentations.
- Epidemiological data on wild animal reservoirs and the full extent of genetic diversity remain limited.
Conclusions:
- Parapoxviruses pose a significant zoonotic risk, necessitating better understanding of their transmission dynamics.
- Further research into the ecology and host range of parapoxviruses in wildlife is crucial.
- The genetic diversity of parapoxviruses, including in marine mammals, is likely greater than currently recognized.
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