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15-Year-Old Boy Catches 18th Century Disease Called Cowpox

15-Year-Old Boy Catches 18th Century Disease Called Cowpox

The disease, which causes lesions to appear on his arms, feet and hands, has been almost extinct for nearly 200 years

Mike Wood

Mike Wood

A British boy has fallen ill with a disease rarely seen since the 18th century on a farm in north Wales.

The child, who has not been named, has contracted cowpox, a disease that causes lesions to appear on his arms, feet and hands.

Wales News Service

It is caused by close contact with cows, which allowed a bacteria that lives in bovines to transfer to humans. The lesions can be extremely itchy and cause scarring to occur.

It is thought that the boy had been feeding the cows by hands and that they had cut into his fingers, allowing the disease to be transferred over.

The victim is just 15 years of age and is thought to be the first person to get cowpox in Wales in 10 to 15 years.

"We were really unsure what it was," said his mother. "The one on his ankle was worrying - it was weeping a clear liquid down his ankle.

"I didn't really know what it was, so I was quite concerned. The first thing you do is look on the internet and that's when I found out it was quite rare.

"My son was quite embarrassed - it looked quite a mess, they (the lesions) weren't nice and it wasn't pleasant for him.

"It took weeks and weeks to go, a long time. He still has some marks on his hands."

Speaking to the BBC, the boy's doctor said: "I think the boy and his family were quite bemused when we told them. I don't think they expected that to be the diagnosis:"

"I think it was very itchy for him but it wasn't particularly painful.

"We have to inform other colleagues about rare cases and, if it's something that's going to be re-emerging, public health professionals need to be alerted.

"We don't really see cowpox anymore - it's one of those diseases that went away."

Cowpox was common over 200 years ago, when far more people tended to livestock on a regular basis.

It is a close relative of smallpox, and in fact was responsible for one of the biggest breakthroughs in medical history, when scientist Dr Edward Jenner noticed that those who had contracted cowpox never got smallpox.

He then used cowpox to immunise against smallpox, thought to be the first ever use of a vaccine.

Featured Image Credit: Wales News Service

Topics: UK News, NHS, Wales, Health