Human orf virus (family Poxviridae) infection following a lamb bite in Hungary.

Authors :: Németh C
Boros Á
Mészáros E
Gyömörei C
Albert E
Pankovics P
Reuter G
Source :: Archives of virology [Arch Virol] 2024 Mar 02; Vol. 169 (3), pp. 59. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 02.
Publication Year :: 2024
Abstract: Human orf disease (called ecthyma contagiosum or contagious/infectious pustular dermatitis in animals) was confirmed on the fingers of both hands of a 24-year-old female, after feeding diseased lambs with a nursing bottle in April 2023. In addition to skin symptoms, she had low-grade fever (37.6°C) and swollen lymph nodes in both axilla. The presence of orf virus (genus Parapoxvirus, family Poxviridae) was confirmed, and this strain, Baja/2023/HUN (OR372161-OR372163), was found to have > 98% nucleotide sequence identity to sheep-origin orf viruses in four tested genome regions (ORF011/B2L, ORF019, ORF020/VIR, and ORF056). This is the first report of a human case of infection with the neglected zoonotic orf virus in Hungary.<br /> (© 2024. The Author(s).)