Scribd
Upload
162 views8 pages

Pox Virus

Poxviruses are the largest viruses that infect vertebrates. The family Poxviridae contains two subfamilies that infect mammals, birds, and insects. Variola virus caused smallpox in humans but was eradicated in 1980. Other human poxvirus infections include vaccinia, cowpox, and monkeypox. Poxviruses are characterized by skin lesions that can be localized or generalized. The variola and vaccinia viruses are very similar and vaccinia was used to develop the successful smallpox vaccine.

Uploaded by

Dayana Prasanth
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
162 views8 pages

Pox Virus

Poxviruses are the largest viruses that infect vertebrates. The family Poxviridae contains two subfamilies that infect mammals, birds, and insects. Variola virus caused smallpox in humans but was eradicated in 1980. Other human poxvirus infections include vaccinia, cowpox, and monkeypox. Poxviruses are characterized by skin lesions that can be localized or generalized. The variola and vaccinia viruses are very similar and vaccinia was used to develop the successful smallpox vaccine.

Uploaded by

Dayana Prasanth
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 8

POX VIRUS

The largest viruses that infect vertebrates.


The family Poxviridae contains two subfamilies:
- Chordopoxvirinae, with 6 genera infecting a wide range of
mammals and birds.
- Entomopoxvirinae, with three genera that affect insects
only.
Chordopoxvirinae
1. Orthopoxvirus: Mammalian poxviruses that cause
generalized infection with rash -variola, vaccinia, cowpox,
monkeypox, rabbitpox, buffallopox, etc.
2. Parapoxvirus : viruses of ungulates and occasionally
infect humans - orf (contagious postular dermatitis),
paravaccinia.
3. Capripoxvirus : viruses of goats & sheep - sheep-pox,
goatpox, lumpy skin disease.
4. Leporipox virus : viruses of leproids - myxoma & fibroma
5. Avipoxvirus : viruses of birds – fowlpox, turkeypox,
pigeonpox
6. Suipoxvirus : swinepox
Human infections
 Poxvirus diseases are characterised by skin lesions which
may be localised or generalised
 The most important of these was smallpox caused by
variola virus.
 Other pox viruses which can infect humans are vaccinia,
cowpox, monkeypox etc.
 Buffallopox and camelpox may occassionally infect
humans.
VARIOLA & VACCINIA
The variola virus is the causative agent of smallpox.
On 8th may 1980 the WHO formally announced the global
eradication of smallpox

Variola Virus
The virus causing classical smallpox was called variola
major and that causing alastrim as variola minor.
Variola major and minor were antigenically identical but
they differed in certain biological characteristics.
Vaccinia & The Smallpox Vaccine
The vaccinia virus was used as the smallpox vaccine.
The vaccinia virus is unique in that it is an artificial virus
and does not occur in nature as such.
It has been studied in greater detail than variola, as it
safer to work with.
The vaccinia and variola virus are so similar in their
properties that they can be considered together.
Morphology
The virion is brick shaped. It consists of a double
layered membrane which surrounds a biconcave
nucleoid containing the DNA core.
On either side of the nucleoid is a lens-shaped
structure called the lateral body.
SMALLPOX
It has been eradicated.
Smallpox was an exclusively human infection, with no animal
reservoir.
There were no carriers as the virus was eliminated
completely from the patient on recovery.
Source of infection: patient in early phase of disease.
Infectivity extended from the appearance of buccal mucosal
lesions (enathems) to the disappearance of all the skin
lesions (exanthems).
Infection usually occurred only in close contacts.
Virus entered the body by inhalation.
After initial multiplication in the local lymphoid tissues the
virus reach the RE cells where further multiplication took
place leading to severe viremia
The Incubation period 12 days.
The single crop of centrifugal exanthems passed through
macular, papular, vesicular and pustular stages before
scabbing and healing by scar formation in 2-4 weeks.
OTHER POX VIRUS DISEASES
MONKEYPOX
BUFFALOPOX
COWPOX
ORF
TANAPOX
MOLLUSCUM CONTAGIOSUM
YABAPOX

You might also like