A Boston laboratory employee became infected with a vaccinia virus from a needlestick accidental stabbing. The man was vaccinated 10 months prior, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota's report on a recent study in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Here are four things to know about the infection:
1. This Boston case marks the first time ever in the United States a worker vaccinated per ACIP recommendations has become infected.
2. Vaccinia is the virus used in smallpox vaccines.
3. The worker was diagnosed with a necrotic vaccinia virus after a necrotic lesion formed where he had punctured himself, and the lesion was later surgically debrided.
4. CDC reports that vaccination alone is not sufficient as the only preventative measure against lab-acquired orthopoxvirus infections, but should also be complemented with biosafety protocols.
You can view the CDC report in full here.
