Genital ulcerations due to a cowpox virus: a misleading diagnosis of herpes.

The case presented here points towards the fact that human enital infection has now been observedwith a cowpox virus, even hough such an infection seems to be a rare event. Cowpox virus s a member of the family Poxviridae, genus Orthopoxvirus, and ts true reservoir is believed to be wild rodents. Transmission to umans is thought to be the contact with infected animals, mostly omestic cats and other felids, which are predators of wild rodents. n humans, cowpox virus causes localized skin lesions accompaied by regional lymphadenopathy and non-specific symptoms. he lesions usually remain localized and self-limiting except in mmunocompromised patients.1,2 In this case, an unusual sympomatologyof a cowpox infection ina10-year-oldgirlwas reported, .e. a primary extensive genital herpetic-like ulceration and a secndary oral lesion. The limits of an exclusive use of molecular ethods, very sensitive and specific tool to perform the virologcal diagnosis of a genital lesion, is emphasized. The importance f maintaining the capacity to isolate viruses in cell culture is also ointed out.