To determine their potential role as a source of human infection, we tested domestic dogs (urban) and wild coatis (wild) in Brazil for vaccinia virus. Our findings of positive neutralizing antibodies and quantitative PCR results for 35/184 dogs and 13/90 coatis highlight a potential public health risk.
Keywords: Brazil; Orthopoxvirus; emerging virus; public health; urban domestic dogs; vaccinia virus; viruses; wild coatis; zoonoses.