Mousepox

an infectious disease of white mice characterized by edema and gangrene; in some cases the extremities fall off. Mousepox occurs in Europe, Asia, and the United States. The causative agent is a DNA virus from the poxvirus group. The source of the causative agent is diseased white mice. The virus is excreted with pieces of skin, saliva, feces, and urine. Infection takes place through injured skin, the intestinal tract, and respiratory passages.

If the course of the disease is acute, the mice die with no visible symptoms within three to 14 days. Sometimes the skin of the legs, ears, tail, and eyelids is affected. If the course is chronic, the animals suffer edema and gangrene, the extremities fall off, and rounded stumps form. No effective treatment of the disease is known. Prevention involves checking the management of laboratory animals. If the disease occurs, all the animals of the infected group are destroyed.