Sealpox Explained

Sealpox
Field:	Dermatology

Sealpox is a cutaneous (skin) condition caused by a Parapoxvirus, usually affecting seal handlers who have been bitten by infected harbor or grey seals.^[1] First identified in 1969,^[2] it wasn't unequivocally proven to be transmissible to humans until 2005,^[3] though such transmission had been reported at least as early as 1987.^[4] It causes lesions that closely resemble those caused by orf.^[3] As many as 2% of seals in marine mammal rehabilitation facilities in North America may have it.^[5]

See also

• Farmyard pox
• Tanapox
• Skin lesion

Notes and References

1. Book: James, William D. . Berger, Timothy G. . Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: clinical Dermatology . Saunders Elsevier . 2006 . 978-0-7216-2921-6 . etal.
2. Some Clinical Aspects of Seal Pox in Captive Atlantic Harbor Seals. 20094269. The Journal of Zoo Animal Medicine. 5. 4. 27–30. Dunn, J. Lawrence. Spotte, Stephen . 1974. 10.2307/20094269.
3. Clark C, McIntyre PG, Evans A, McInnes CJ, Lewis-Jones S . Human sealpox resulting from a seal bite: confirmation that sealpox virus is zoonotic . Br. J. Dermatol. . 152 . 4 . 791–3 . April 2005 . 15840117 . 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2005.06451.x . 38466772 .
4. An Epizootic of Seal Pox in Pinnipeds at a Rehabilitation Center. 20094962. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 20. 3. Hastings, Barkley E.. Lowenstine, Linda J. . Gage, Laurie J. . Munn, Robert J. . 282–290. September 1989. Abstract: An epizootic of cutaneous nodules occurred in three species of pinnipeds at the California Marine Mammal Center during the summer of 1986..
5. Roess AA, Levine RS, Barth L, Monroe BP, Carroll DS, Damon IK, Reynolds MG . Sealpox virus in marine mammal rehabilitation facilities, North America, 2007-2009 . Emerging Infect. Dis. . 17 . 12 . 2203–8 . December 2011 . 22172454 . 3311194 . 10.3201/eid1712.101945 .