The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Thursday said despite the patient's exposure history, sex with a person vaccinated against smallpox, and clinical presentation, genital lesions, the diagnosis of vaccinia virus was not initially considered by the patient's doctor.
"Healthcare providers caring for U.S. military personnel or their contacts should consider vaccinia virus infection in the differential diagnosis of clinically compatible genital lesions," the report said. "Healthcare providers should educate vaccinees and any contacts with unexplained lesions about methods to prevent transmission and inadvertent autoinoculation."
No more cases have been reported, the report said.
Vaccinia virus is used in the live-virus vaccine against smallpox but the vaccinia virus vaccine cannot cause a smallpox infection because it does not contain the smallpox virus.
The World Health Organization's Smallpox Eradication Program used the vaccinia virus in the vaccine that eradicated smallpox disease.
Due to the threat of bioterrorism, the vaccine is administered to the U.S. military.