Dear Editors, Ecthyma gangrenosum (EG) is a rare infection that is characteristically seen in immunocompromised patients and presents as embolic lesions caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1). This type of infection has distinct pathognomonic features along with a high mortality rate, but when recognised early, it can be successfully treated. The classic lesions associated with EG are composed of...

The virus, which causes orf and induces acute pustular skin lesions in sheep and goats, is transmissible to humans yet is rarely observed in North America. We present a case of a 65-year-old female farmer from Connecticut who contracted orf from her sheep. The clinical and histopathologic features, important to arrive at the correct diagnosis of this uncommon yet important infection, are descri...

Ecthyma gangrenosum (EG) is a well-described skin lesion classically associated with Pseudomonas septicemia in immunocompromised patients, but may also be caused by other bacterial and fungal organisms [1]. The lesions characteristically appear as small indurated papulovesicles progressing rapidly to necrotic ulcers with surrounding erythema and a central black eschar [2]. Ecthyma gangrenosum i...

molluscum contagiosum is caused by infection by the molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), a large, double-stranded DNA virus that is a member of the pox virus family. Several genotypes exist, but MCV genotype 1 is responsible for 98 percent of molluscum cases that occur in the US. Molluscum lesions typically present as centrally umbilicated, firm, dome-shaped, pearly to flesh-colored papules avera...

The Orf disease, also known as contagious ecthyma, is a zoonotic infection caused by a dermatotropic parapoxvirus that commonly infects small ruminants such as sheep and goats. It is transmitted to humans through contact with an infected animal or fomites. Human infection typically is associated with occupational animal contact. We recently treated a healthy 41-year-old woman who presented a ha...

BACKGROUND Orf virus, the prototype of parapoxvirus, is the main causative agent of contagious ecthyma. Little is known about the status of the disease in Ethiopia and this study was aimed at determining its status using PCR as a confirmatory tool. METHODS a total of 400 randomly selected sheep and goat was screened for the identification of the virus using amplification of B2L gene and trans...