A new poxvirus was isolated in 1974 from the kidney of a wild big gerbil (Rhombomys opimus) caught in Turkmenia, where these gerbils are wide-spread. The virus resembles cowpox virus and is markedly different from the virus of infectious ectromelia, the best-known poxvirus of rodents. The new virus is apparently identical to other poxvirus isolates made from white rats and Felidae in the Moscow Zoo. Experimental inoculation of the natural hosts-big gerbils and yellow susliks (Citellus fulvus)-produced a severe infection with a high mortality rate. Transmission of virus to uninoculated cage mates was shown to occur. Virus persisted in convalescent animals and was present in urine 3 weeks after inoculation and in kidney and testis for at least 5 weeks after inoculation. The role of rodents as natural hosts of poxviruses is discussed. © 1978 Springer-Verlag.
CITATION STYLE
Marennikova, S. S., Ladnyj, I. D., Ogorodnikova, Z. I., Shelukhina, E. M., & Maltseva, N. N. (1978). Identification and study of a poxvirus isolated from wild rodents in Turkmenia. Archives of Virology, 56(1–2), 7–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01317279
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