Cowpox viruses in Germany: An analysis of 5 cases in 1998

Five case reports on cowpox virus infections in cats, humans, and for the f irst time in a horse are presented. It becomes obvious that in most cases t he diagnosis cowpox is suspected rather late, although fast and reliable di agnostic tools such as pathohistological examination and polymerase chain r eaction are available. The threat of a zoonotic transmission mainly through cats is gaining importance. Although wild rodents have been claimed to be the reservoir and source for cowpox viruses in cats, very little is known a bout the epidemiology of cowpox virus. Eased on the different genome organi zations found in the German isolates, we conclude that various subtypes of cowpox virus are circulating in Germany at one time.