Cowpox virus infection in an 11-year-old girl

We describe an 11-year-old girl with a cowpox virus infection, who presente d with a 14-day-old crusted, ulcerated nodule on the chin/neck and a 6-day- old eroded blister on the left leg. The girl lived in a rural environment, had close contact to several cats from the neighborhood, and had an atopic predisposition. The presence of orthopox virus in the lesion on the left le g was demonstrated by electron microscopy (negative staining, transmission electron microscopy) and virus isolation. Classification as a cowpox virus was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by restriction enzyme digestion of the PCR product.