Here's What You Need to Know About Cowpox, a Rare Skin Infection That Has No Cure
In 2013, a teenager from the Netherlands, who was reported to have rescued a drowning kitten, developed a large, blackened open wound on her wrist, taking several doctors many weeks to determine its rare cause.
The kitten rescued by the teenage girl was reportedly sick and eventually died the next day. Meanwhile, the teenage girl was on an out-of-the-country trip when she developed a wound, which was initially red before it turned black.
Aside from the appearance, the patient developed painful red bumps on her arm too. The rashes span from the wound on her wrist to her underarm.
The doctors suspected that the wound was a result of bacterial infection, and so they prescribed antibiotics. However, the drug did not work. When she got back home, the teen felt feverish and returned to the hospital.
Following this incident, the doctors started suspecting the wound was a result of the cowpox virus. This is a rare infection that not all doctors have seen.
After getting in touch with a virologist, lab results proved that the teenager had a cowpox virus. She was treated for 13 days by different doctors, and, after one more week, she got better "on her own" and her wound healed within a couple of months with a scar left on her skin.
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Cowpox Virus
Cowpox is a viral skin infection resulting from a catpox or cowpox virus. It is also an Oarthopoxvirus family member, which also includes the variola virus that results in smallpox.
Medical experts describe cowpox as similar to smallpox. However, smallpox is considerably more infectious, and at times, it can be fatal.
Mainly, periodic human cases of this rare skin condition were also reported in Europe, mostly associated with the handling of an infected animal, specifically rodents and cats.
Signs and Symptoms
Most cowpox cases take place as a single or a small quantity of pus-like lesions, specifically on the face and hands, eventually ulcerating and forming a black layer before they heal on their own.
Such a process may take a maximum of 12 weeks, along with some skin findings over the said course. Some of these results include the appearance of an inflamed macule from the first to the sixth day and raised inflamed lesion until it progresses into a vesicle from the seventh to the 12th day.
Other common symptoms of cowpox include fever, fatigue, sore throat, and vomiting. Some patients report eye conditions like conjunctivitis, periorbital swelling, and corneal involvement. Enlarged painful local lymph nodes can also develop.
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Cowpox Treatment
Cowpox has no known cure. However, experts in this rare condition claim the illness is "self-limiting." The human immune reaction is enough to control the contagion on its own.
Lesions heal by themselves within six to 12 weeks. More often than not, individuals experiencing this skin disease are left with scars in the area where pox lesions have healed.
Individuals with cowpox may feel unwell and may need bed rest and supportive treatment. For instance, a doctor may apply dressings or bandages to the affected area to stop the spread in other areas of the body and possibly, to other people.
Meanwhile, those who have underlying skin conditions like atomic dermatitis may be at higher risk of getting generalized cowpox.
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Aug 11, 2020 11:37 AM EDT
