Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Orthopoxvirus
open-in-new
<p><i>Orthopoxvirus</i> is a genus of <a href="/facts/Virus/mf88Bcbl">viruses</a> in the family <i><a href="/facts/Poxviridae/L2oTmrnq">Poxviridae</a></i> and subfamily <i><a href="/facts/Chordopoxvirinae/zmBI89MI">Chordopoxvirinae</a></i>. Vertebrates, including mammals and humans, and <a href="/facts/Arthropod/JKJLTFzp">arthropods</a> serve as natural hosts. There are 12 species in this genus. Diseases associated with this genus include <a href="/facts/Smallpox/cxNeetP4">smallpox</a>, <a href="/facts/Cowpox/zzPD2Vx9">cowpox</a>, horsepox, <a href="/facts/Camelpox/AB0DSk5Y">camelpox</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mpox/v5VCl0ep">mpox</a>. The most widely known member of the genus is <a href="/facts/Variola_virus/cxNeetP4">Variola virus</a>, which causes smallpox. It was eradicated globally by 1977, through the use of <a href="/facts/Vaccinia/jSgHWq2k">Vaccinia virus</a> as a <a href="/facts/Vaccine/QcXzLug2">vaccine</a>. The most recently described species is the Borealpox virus, first isolated in 2015. </p>