Multiple Species in Ghana Are Infected with Orthopoxviruses

Multiple rodent species — and also humans — in Ghana show evidence of exposure to monkeypox virus.

In 2003, 72 cases of confirmed or suspected human monkeypox occurred in the U.S. — the first ever reported outside of Africa (N Engl J Med 2004; 350:342). Rodents imported from Ghana (giant pouched rats, dormice, and rope squirrels) were implicated in the outbreak, even though human monkeypox, caused by an orthopoxvirus, had never been reported there. Now, investigators have attempted to determine which species are infected with orthopoxviruses in the natural environment in Ghana and to quantify the extent of human exposure there.

Investigators live-captured 204 healthy appearing rodents in the same two areas and at the same time of year as the rodents implicated in the U.S. outbreak. Animals from five genera were found to have antibodies ag…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine