Emerging Infectious Diseases (May 2009)

Cowpox Virus Transmission from Pet Rats to Humans, Germany

  • Hartmut Campe,
  • Pia Zimmermann,
  • Katharina Glos,
  • Margot Bayer,
  • Hans Bergemann,
  • Caroline Dreweck,
  • Petra Graf,
  • Bianca Kim Weber,
  • Hermann Meyer,
  • Mathias Büttner,
  • Ulrich Busch,
  • Andreas Sing

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1505.090159
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 5
pp. 777 – 780

Abstract

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We describe a cluster of cowpox virus (CPXV) infections in humans that occurred near Munich, Germany, around the beginning of 2009. Previously, only sporadic reports of CPXV infections in humans after direct contact with various animals had been published. This outbreak involved pet rats from the same litter.

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