Poxviridae
family of viruses
Poxviridae is a family of double-stranded DNA viruses. Vertebrates and arthropods serve as natural hosts. The family contains 28 genera that are assigned to two subfamilies: Chordopoxvirinae and Entomopoxvirinae. Entomopoxvirinae infect insects and Chordopoxvirinae infect vertebrates. Diseases associated with this family include smallpox.
Four genera of poxviruses can infect humans: Orthopoxvirus, Parapoxvirus, Yatapoxvirus, Molluscipoxvirus. Only 2 are species-specific to humans: variola virus (VARV), and Molluscum contagiosum (MCV). The most common are the vaccinia virus (seen on the Indian subcontinent) and molluscum contagiosum virus, but Mpox infections are rising (seen in the West, and central African rainforest countries).
The similarly named disease chickenpox is not caused by a poxvirus, but by varicella zoster, a herpesvirus. Parapoxvirus and Orthopoxvirus genera are zoonotic.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Poxviridae” as family of viruses. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as family of viruses. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q948421. The Library of Congress control number is sh85106028. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Poxviridae” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.