We acknowledge financial support from the Wellcome Trust Technology Transfer Award No. 090441Z09Z, and the National Institutes for Health Research, Porton for animal model development. We are grateful to Thomas Bean and the staff of the Biological Investigations Group at HPA for assistance in conducting the ferret studies and to Andrew NVP-BGJ398 Mead (University of Warwick) for assistance with the statistical analysis. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Health or the Health Protection Agency. “
“Cantagalo virus (CTGV) was isolated

during an outbreak of a pustular skin disease affecting dairy cows and milkers in the Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil. The virus was characterized as a strain of vaccinia virus (VACV; Orthopoxvirus; Poxviridae) and it shares important genotypic and phenotypic features with the smallpox vaccine used in Brazil until the late 1970s ( Damaso et al., 2000). PFI-2 research buy Most outbreaks of CTGV-like infections have been reported in Southeastern Brazil ( Damaso et al., 2007, de Souza Trindade et al., 2003, Megid et al., 2008 and Nagasse-Sugahara et al., 2004),

but the spread of the disease in cattle and humans and its establishment in northern states in the Amazon biome has been described recently ( Medaglia et al., 2009 and Quixabeira-Santos et al., 2011). Infected animals develop pustular lesions on the teats and udder, accompanied by fever and sometimes secondary mastitis. Dairy workers usually acquire the disease during milking activities, developing lesions Methane monooxygenase on hands and arms, with associated lymphadenopathy, fever, and prostration. Generalized infections are rarely observed. Nevertheless, infected workers are incapable of working for 3–4 weeks (Moussatche et al., 2008). The economical and occupational aspects of this emerging

zoonosis require attention because of the increasing number of affected animals and individuals (Damaso et al., 2007, Medaglia et al., 2009 and Moussatche et al., 2008). Attack rates vary from 11% to 80% of the herd depending on the farm size and herd density. Farms with high animal density combined with poor sanitation conditions usually have the highest rates (Donatele et al., 2007 and Quixabeira-Santos et al., 2011). There is no antiviral therapy commercially available to treat CTGV-infected animals or humans. The emergence of other orthopoxvirus infections worldwide poses similar concerns, such as outbreaks of monkeypox virus in Africa and cowpox virus infections in Europe (Reynolds and Damon, 2012 and Vorou et al., 2008). In addition, complications following smallpox vaccination are still a problem (Golden and Hooper, 2011). Therefore, considerable efforts have been recently invested towards the search for effective anti-orthopoxvirus drugs.