TYPICAL OCCUPATIONAL VIRAL DERMATOSES

Viruses may cause skin diseases in workers who have contact with infec ted animals, but may also involve medical personnel in contact with in fected secretions. Establishing an occupational relationship is not al ways easy. Occupational viral dermatoses include viral warts, for exam ple, in meat handlers. The main cause of ''butcher warts'' is the huma n papilloma virus type 7. The reason for this however is not clear. He rpes simplex infections of the hand are often recognized as an occupat ional hazard of health professionals, but in adults ''herpetic whitlow '' is more commonly associated with genital herpes infections. Autoino culation is the more likely route of transmission. The paravaccinia vi rus from infected cows, the human cowpox virus, causes the benign skin disease called milker's nodule, for example in dairy farmers. Another paravaccinia virus, the orf virus, causing ecthyma contagiosum or ''O rf'' is endemic in sheep and goats. Human orf infections can be found in sheep herders and veterinarians. Diagnoses and treatment of these o ccupational viral dermatoses do not differ from non-occupational infec tions.