Orthopoxvirus inclusion bodies are aggregates of stainable protein produced by poxvirus

virions A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's ...

in the cell nuclei and/or cytoplasm of epithelial cells in humans. They are important as sites of viral replication.

Morphology

Morphologically there are two types of Orthopoxvirus inclusion bodies, Type-A inclusion bodies and Guarnieri bodies. Type-A inclusion bodies are found only in certain poxviruses like

cowpox Cowpox is an infectious disease caused by the ''cowpox virus'' (CPXV). It presents with large blisters in the skin, a fever and swollen glands, historically typically following contact with an infected cow, though in the last several decades more ...

. The Guarnieri bodies are found in all poxvirus infections and their presence is diagnostic. The diagnosis of an orthopoxvirus infection can also be made rapidly by electron microscopic examination of pustular fluid or scabs. However, all orthopoxviruses exhibit identical brick-shaped

by electron microscopy. Guarnieri bodies are named for Giuseppe Guarnieri, (1856-1918) an Italian physician who first described them.

References

{{Infectious blood tests Smallpox