title: Drastic cutaneous multi-focal orf infection in goats, causing severe dysfunctioning.
abstract: A flock of 76 goats was struck by orf infection at the Al-Ahsa oasis in eastern Saudi Arabia. The morbidity rate was 89%, while the case fatality rate was 3%. The clinical signs were most severe in three adult goats, which survived, and in two kids, which died of the infection. The lesions were multi-focal and so serious that they prevented the infected goats from seeing, eating, lactating or walking. The virus was isolated in Vero cell culture and a scab suspension was used to experimentally infect susceptible goats. These newly infected animals suffered only mild disease but the orf virus was re-isolated and the goats seroconverted. To the best knowledge of the authors, these were the most drastic orf lesions seen during the last 17 years in goats in Saudi Arabia.
authors.affiliation: Chair of Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, Faculty of Medicine and King Fahad Centre for Medical Research, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80216, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: E M E Elzein
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Abu
authors.forename: F M T
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Housawi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D004474:Ecthyma, Contagious / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D006041:Goats; D008297:Male; D009923:Orf virus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index