progressive vaccinia
A patient with an immunological deficiency shows signs of progressive vaccinia.
Noun: A severe and potentially fatal complication of the smallpox vaccination, occurring primarily in individuals with a deficient immune system. The condition is characterized by the continuous, uncontrolled growth and spread of the initial vaccination lesion at the inoculation site, without the development of a typical, contained immune response.
The term is used in medical and historical contexts to describe a specific, dangerous adverse reaction to the smallpox vaccine. * The patient's compromised immune system led to a diagnosis of progressive vaccinia. * Progressive vaccinia was a known risk for vaccinating individuals with certain immunodeficiencies.
- The term is often discussed in the context of contraindications for vaccination, highlighting the critical importance of screening for immune disorders before administering live virus vaccines.
- It is a key example of an opportunistic infection, where a normally controlled agent causes severe disease due to host immune failure.
- Vaccinia necrosum: An older, synonymous term for the same condition, emphasizing the necrotic (tissue-death) nature of the lesion.
- Generalized vaccinia: A related but typically less severe condition where the vaccinia virus spreads to cause lesions elsewhere on the body, often in individuals with a healthy immune response.
- Eczema vaccinatum: Another severe complication, but occurring when the vaccinia virus infects individuals with active or historical eczema.
- Vaccinia necrosum
- Disseminated vaccinia (in the context of uncontrolled local spread)
This term refers specifically to the complication arising from the vaccinia virus used in the smallpox vaccine. It is not a general term for any progressive infection. The defining feature is the progressive, non-healing expansion of the primary vaccination site, distinguishing it from the normal, expected course of a successful vaccination.
A patient with an immunological deficiency shows signs of progressive vaccinia.
- a severe or even fatal form of vaccinia that occurs mainly in persons with an immunological deficiency; characterized by progressive enlargement of the initial lesion