1. Lamb pays lip service: two cases of ecthyma contagiosum (orf).
- Author
-
de Wet C and Murie J
- Subjects
- Adult, Animal Husbandry, Animals, Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Ecthyma, Contagious transmission, Female, Floxacillin therapeutic use, Humans, Male, Necrosis drug therapy, Orf virus, Sheep, Treatment Outcome, Bites and Stings virology, Ecthyma, Contagious complications, Ecthyma, Contagious diagnosis, Finger Injuries virology, Necrosis virology
- Abstract
Ecthyma contagiosum (orf) is caused by a parapox virus, which results in ulcerative stomatitis of mainly sheep and goats. The disease may be transmitted to humans through direct contact. Complications are rare in healthy individuals, who rarely report the disease. Two married, recreational sheep farmers, were bitten on their index fingers by an affected lamb. While the husband made an uneventful recovery after oral flucloxacillin, his wife was admitted to hospital with necrosis of her finger, cellulitis and lymphangitis requiring intravenous clindamycin. She subsequently developed a generalized maculo-papular rash, which was initially thought to be an adverse drug reaction, but, on hindsight, may have been erythema multiforme associated with orf. Orf is a common zoonosis, rarely reported in general practice. The disease is usually self-limiting and resolves in 6-8 weeks, but complications may occur. The diagnosis should be considered in at-risk occupational and religious groups.
- Published
- 2011
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