title: Vaccinia viruses isolated from skin infection in horses produced cutaneous and systemic disease in experimentally infected rabbits.
abstract: The susceptibility of rabbits to two isolates of Vaccinia virus (VACV) recovered from cutaneous disease in horses in Southern Brazil was investigated. Rabbits were inoculated in the ear skin with both VACV isolates, either in single or mixed infection. All inoculated animals presented local skin lesions characterized by hyperaemia, papules, vesicles, pustules and ulcers. Infectious virus was detected in the lungs and intestine of rabbits that died during acute disease. Histological examination of the skin revealed changes characteristic of those associated with members of the genus Orthopoxvirus. These results demonstrate that rabbits develop skin disease accompanied by systemic signs upon intradermal inoculation of these two equine VACV isolates, either alone or in combination, opening the way for using rabbits to study selected aspects of the biology and pathogenesis of VACV infection.
authors.affiliation: Setor de Virologia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, Camobi, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 97105-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana Felipetto
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Cargnelutti
authors.forename: Candice
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Eduardo Kenji
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: Paula Rochelle Kurrle
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: Rudi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weiblen
authors.forename: Eduardo Furtado
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Flores
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D006736:Horses; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D018155:Orthopoxvirus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011213:Poxviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011817:Rabbits; D017193:Skin Diseases, Viral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000145:classification*; D014709:Vero Cells; D014766:Viremia; D017201:Virus Shedding
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral