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full screen The newly discovered virus causes sores around the eyes and on the genitals. Archive image. Photo: Lise Åserud/TT
“Reindeer pox virus” is the tentative name for a newly discovered infection that gives reindeer sores around the eyes and genitals. It is not considered to make reindeer seriously ill, but the wounds heal slowly and it may take weeks, sometimes months, before the reindeer are fully recovered.
Several cases have been found in Sweden and Norway, writes the Statens veterinärmedicinska anstalt (SVA) in a press release.
The virus is currently deemed not to be able to spread from animals to humans, according to SVA.