Characterization of camelpoxvirus isolates from Africa and Asia.

Five orthopoxvirus isolates of camels from different geographic regions of Africa and Asia were analysed with respect to their biological and genomic attributes. The behaviour of the isolates in various cell cultures, the type of pock lesions on the chorioallantoic membrane of embryonated chicken eggs, and the respective ceiling temperatures were determined. Additionally, physical maps for restriction endonucleases HindIII and XhoI were established. The data obtained from biological assays and DNA analyses demonstrated minor differences between the five isolates. However, these findings confirm previous reports suggesting that orthopoxviruses of camels constitute a separate species within the genus Orthopoxvirus.