Facial Orf

Orf, also known as ecthyma contagiosum or contagious pustular dermatitis, is a zoonotic viral disease caused by the direct or indirect contact of damaged skin with infected animals. The causative agent is an epitheliotropic DNA virus from the Parapoxvirus family and affects sheeps, goats and some other domestic or wild ruminants. A patient presented to our clinic with two nodular lesions on his face after contact with the raw meat of ruminants and the differential diagnoses other than echtyma contagiosum were eliminated by punch biopsy. Although orf lesions are usually found as solitary lesions on the hands and fingers, they have rarely been reported on the face, nostrils, tongue, eye lids and perianal region. It can present as an atypical lesion or multiple lesions. A thirty-six year old male patient, who had two facial orf lesions after contact with sheep, is presented due to the unusual location and multiplicity of the lesions. (Turk J Dermatol 2012; 6: 58-60