Progressive angiomatosis, resembling human skeletal-extraskeletal angiomatosis, arising in multiple digits in two dogs.

Two dogs presented with progressive, expansile and invasive lesions on a hind paw. Case 1, a 10-year-old female Shetland sheepdog had diffusive and aggressive-looking lesions on the middle digits of the left hind paw. Radiographic examination showed invasion into and destruction of the underlying bone. A malignant tumour was suspected initially; however, histological features of atypical vascular proliferations without mitotic activity were consistent with progressive angiomatosis. Case 2, an 11-year-old female English springer spaniel presented with similar lesions in the same toes, also involving bone. Progressive angiomatosis was suspected clinically, as tumour cells were not detected by cytology and screening did not detect metastatic disease. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis. Progressive angiomatosis is an uncommon non-malignant condition which should be considered as a differential diagnosis for radiographically lytic digital lesions.

Clinical cowpox cases in Norway.

In 1994, a human and a feline case of cowpox virus infection appeared in the western part of Norway. Cowpox has not been diagnosed with certainty in Norway since the beginning of this century, when it was associated with the use of cowpox virus as a vaccine against smallpox. The human infection manifested as a spontaneously emerged, severe ulceration at the medial angle of the right eye in a 37-y-old woman, and developed into a relatively severe dermatitis. The ulcer healed slowly, leaving a scar. The feline infection was represented by a febrile, dehydrated and anorectic 6-months-old non-pedigree short-hair, with crater-like ulcers all over the body. After antibiotic and fluid therapy, revision of the skin lesions and amputation of a gangrenous toe, the cat recovered. Electron microscopy of the isolates and cultivation of virus on chorioallantoic membrane of chicken embryos confirmed the suspicion of cowpox virus infection.

Antibodies to orthopoxvirus in domestic cats in Norway.

The prevalence of antibodies to orthopoxvirus in 217 sera collected from domestic cats in the western part of Norway was 10.1 per cent as measured by a competitive ELISA. In one of the seropositive cats antibodies were also detected by an immunofluorescence assay. The average age of the cats sampled was 4.9 years, but the average age of the seropositive individuals was 7.3 years, higher than the average age of clinical cowpox virus cases in Britain (4.2 years), and in Germany (3.9 years). Antibodies against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) were detected in nine of 30 (30 per cent) of the seropositive cats, and in five of 30 (17 per cent) of the seronegative cats, which suggests that FIV infection may influence the susceptibility of domestic cats to orthopoxvirus, or vice versa. Orthopoxvirus infections, have recently been detected in rodent populations in several areas of Norway, and the infection may therefore be present in cats all over the country; cat owners and animal handlers should be aware of this (re)emerging zoonosis.

Characteristics of four cowpox virus isolates from Norway and Sweden.

We report the first isolation of cowpox virus from a domestic cat in Norway, and the first confirmed isolation of cowpox virus from a human case in Norway. These two Norwegian cowpox virus isolates, as well as two Swedish human isolates, were partially characterized and compared with each other and with cowpox virus Brighton and vaccinia virus strain Western Reserve. Restriction enzyme analysis of the genomes revealed differences between all six viruses examined, but suggested that the two Norwegian isolates are closely related, as are the two Swedish isolates. Restriction endonuclease digestion of genomic DNA demonstrated that one of the Swedish isolates and the two Norwegian isolates have larger genomes than vaccinia virus strain Western Reserve, but smaller than cowpox Brighton. All four Scandinavian isolates lacked a 72 base-pair region within the A-type inclusion body protein gene which is present in the prototype cowpox virus Brighton.

[A case of cowpox]. / Et tilfelle av kukopper.

A 37-year-old woman was admitted to the dermatology department at a regional hospital with a severe ulceration at the medial angle of the right eye. Virus culture yielded orthopoxvirus-like particles, later identified as cowpox virus. The clinical picture and virological diagnosis of cowpox are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the need for awareness among health personnel that such infections may well be encountered in an increasingly unvaccinated population. Guidelines for clinicians and for virology laboratories are given. Cats as a zoonoic source is discussed.

Nerve-Purkinje fiber relationship in the moderator band of bovine and caprine heart.

The moderator band in the heart of the ox and goat contains bundles of Purkinje fibers and nerve fibers separated by connective tissue. The axons are mostly unmyelinated and embedded in the cytoplasm of Schwann cells. Small bundles of axons run close to the Purkinje fibers. The axons dilate into varicosities 0.5 to 1.6mu in diameter (mean 0.95mu), containing three types of vesicles: 1)agranular vesicles with a diameter of 400-500 A, 2) large dense-cored vesicles with a diameter of 800-1200 A, 3) small dense-cored vesicles with a diameter of 500 A. Most varicosities contain agranular vesicles together with a few large dense-cored vesicles. The gap between the varicosities and the nearest Purkinje fiber is unusually wide and normally varies between 0.3mu and 0.8mu. No intimate nerve-Purkinje fiber contacts, with a cleft of 200 A, were observed.