ABSTRACT
Cowpox virus (CPXV) is the causative agent for cowpox, a zoonotic dermatitis that produces red blisters in humans, cats, and cows. The virus derived its name from the fact that it was rst identied from infected cows, and that humans (dairymaids) often acquire the infection by touching the udders of infected cows. Cowpox may be confused with diseases caused by other poxviruses such as variola virus (the etiologic agent for smallpox), monkeypox virus, and vaccinia virus. As persons recovering from cowpox also develop cross-protective immunity to smallpox, CPXV was used in the rst successful vaccination (“vacca” meaning cow in Latin) against smallpox. Subsequently, another poxvirus, vaccinia virus, has replaced CPXV as a preferred vaccine for smallpox, contributing to the eradication of smallpox in 1979.
