Farmyard pox: parapox virus infection in man

Inasmuch as orf, milker's nodules and bovine papular stomatitis pox are clinically identical in man and are induced by currently indistinguishable parapox viruses, we propose a new generic term 'farmyard pox' for these diseases. This affords the clinician a diagnosis based on a common set of clinical and electron microscopic findings rather than one based on an uncertain or even misleading history. A case in point is reported in which the history failed to reveal a specific animal source of the virus, but electron microscopy confirmed the presence of parapox infection.