Poxvirus found in a red squirrel in Spain

Elena Oban and colleagues have detected a poxvirus in a red squirrel road casualty from north-east Spain. The squirrel had many haematomas in its body, and skin lesions on its ear tips, tail and feet, but not on the eyelids or mouth as found with Squirrel poxvirus (SQPV) infection in red squirrels in the UK. Preliminary analysis suggest it is an orthopoxirus, but morphologically distinct from SQPV. Grey squirrels, carriers of SQPV, have never been recorded in Spain. The case is reported in Veterinary Record (see Publications page).

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