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Pathogens 2022 Apr 24;11(5). Epub 2022 Apr 24.

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.

Homologues of interleukin (IL)-10, a pleiotropic immunomodulatory cytokine, have been identified in the genus. The first identified, (ORFV) IL-10, greatly enhanced infection of its host, exhibiting immune modulatory effects equivalent to human IL-10. IL-10-like genes were then identified in (BPSV), (PCPV), (RDPV) and (GSPV). Read More

Front Immunol 2022 9;13:873351. Epub 2022 May 9.

Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

Background: Orf virus (ORFV)-based vectors are attractive for vaccine development as they enable the induction of potent immune responses against specific transgenes. Nevertheless, the precise mechanisms of immune activation remain unknown. This study therefore aimed to characterize underlying mechanisms in human immune cells. Read More

Open Vet J 2022 Mar-Apr;12(2):273-280

The Veterinary Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, El-Shohada, Moawwad, Qesm Awel AZ Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.

Background: Orf is a highly contagious viral skin disease in sheep and goats caused by Orf virus (ORFV) in the genus Parapoxvirus. Although sheep and goats are considered an essential food resource, particularly in Africa, ORFV infection represents an increasing challenge to animal productivity causing high economic losses.

Aim: This study aimed to detect and characterize the ORFV in suspected clinically diseased goats in two neighboring Egyptian governorates, Al-Sharkia and Ismailia, flocks during April 2020 and July 2021by using PCR and phylogenetic analysis of partial B2L sequence. Read More

J Vet Res 2022 Mar 1;66(1):43-52. Epub 2022 Mar 1.

Laboratory of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour, Egypt.

Introduction: Seal parapoxvirus (SPPV) infection has been reported among pinnipeds in aquaria in Japan; however, its seroprevalence is unknown. Therefore, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for serological diagnosis of SPPV infection.

Material And Methods: The gene encoding the major envelope protein of SPPV was cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pAcGFP1-N1, which encodes the green fluorescence protein (GFP), thereby producing a fusion protein (Env-GFP). Read More

Arch Virol 2022 Jul 14;167(7):1577-1582. Epub 2022 May 14.

Division of Virology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Nainital District, Mukteswar, Uttarakhand, 263138, India.

In the present study, we analyzed the chemokine-binding protein (CBP) and the GM-CSF/IL-2 inhibition factor (GIF) of orf virus (ORFV) isolates of sheep and goat origin from different geographical regions of India. Both are immunomodulatory proteins known for their unique strategy of establishing short-term immunity and re-infection in their host. The GIF gene is highly conserved, whereas the CBP gene is highly variable. Read More

Arch Virol 2022 Jul 11;167(7):1571-1576. Epub 2022 May 11.

Department of Biological Science, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Madhya Pradesh, 462066, India.

Contagious pustular dermatitis is a disease that primarily infects small ruminants and possesses zoonotic potential. It is caused by orf virus (ORFV), a member of the genus Parapoxvirus. In this study, we evaluated an ORFV outbreak in goats in Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India, during 2017. Read More

Vet Res Forum 2021 Dec 15;12(4):421-427. Epub 2021 Dec 15.

Department of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey.

Mastitis is the most important disease in dairy cattle industry because of its high economic losses both in herd management, milk and milk products. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of inactivated (IPPVO) Para immune activator as a prophylaxis against mastitis and as the therapy for subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle. The prophylactic effects of IPPVO were investigated in California mastitis test (CMT). Read More

Front Microbiol 2022 23;13:845259. Epub 2022 Mar 23.

Institute of Antibody Engineering, School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

The parapoxvirus Orf virus (ORFV) has long been recognized as one of the valuable vectors in researches of oncolytic virus. In order to develop a potential therapeutic strategy for breast cancer based on the oncolytic virotherapy ORFV, firstly we explore the oncolytic effects of ORFV. Our research showed that ORFV exerts anti-tumor effects by inducing breast cancer cell G2/M phase arrest and cell apoptosis. Read More

J Immunother Cancer 2022 Mar;10(3)

Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Background: Novel therapies are needed to improve outcomes for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Oncolytic viruses are multifunctional immunotherapeutic biologics that preferentially infect cancer cells and stimulate inflammation with the potential to generate antitumor immunity. Herein we describe (Orf virus (OrfV)), an oncolytic poxvirus, as a viral immunotherapy for ovarian cancer. Read More

North Clin Istanb 2021 18;8(6):626-628. Epub 2021 Nov 18.

Department of Dermatology, Medeniyet University Faculty of Medicine, Goztepe Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.

Orf, ecthyma contagiosum, is a zoonotic viral infectious disease caused by parapoxvirus that affects particularly sheep and goats. Human may be infected with direct contact with contagious animals or by handling contaminated animal products. Lesions are localized mostly on the hands and fingers, but atypical localizations such as head or face have been rarely reported. Read More

Braz J Microbiol 2022 Jun 27;53(2):1077-1080. Epub 2022 Feb 27.

Laboratório de Vírus, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.

The pseudocowpox virus (PCPV) is recognized for causing exanthematic lesions in cattle and humans. The diagnosis is important because it is a zoonosis and its clinical signs can be confused with foot-and-mouth disease, a high-impact bovine disease in livestock. The objective of this work is to validate a SYBR Green qPCR and a conventional PCR for virus detection in bovine samples. Read More

Rev Prat 2021 Oct;71(8):872

Service de dermatologie, vénérologie et allergologie, CHU Mohammed-VI, Oujda, Maroc - Laboratoire d'épidémiologie, de recherche clinique et de santé publique, faculté de médecine et de pharmacie Oujda, Université Mohammed Premier Oujda, Maroc.

Vet Med Sci 2022 03 28;8(2):907-916. Epub 2022 Jan 28.

Laboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse-Inserm, Corte, France.

Background: Several viruses belonging to the family Poxviridae can cause infections in humans and animals. In Corsica, livestock farming (sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle) is mainly mixed, leading to important interactions between livestock, wildlife, and human populations. This could facilitate the circulation of zoonotic diseases, and makes Corsica a good example for studies of tick-borne diseases. Read More

Infect Genet Evol 2022 03 20;98:105220. Epub 2022 Jan 20.

College of Biological Science and Technology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing 163319, PR China.

Poxviruses are a family of specialized cytoplasm-parasitic DNA viruses that replicate and assembly in virus factory. In Parapoxvirus (PPV) genus, with the orf virus (ORFV) as a representative species of this genus, their behaviors are significantly different from that of Orthopoxvirus, and the plots of viral practical solutions for evading host immunity are intricate and fascinating, particularly to anti-host and host's antiviral mechanisms. In order to protect the virus factory from immune elimination caused by infection, PPVs attempt to interfere with multiple stress levels of host, mainly by modulating innate immunity response (IIR) and adaptive immunity response (AIR). Read More

Life Sci 2022 Feb 8;291:120297. Epub 2022 Jan 8.

Institute of Antibody Engineering, School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China; Key Laboratory of Antibody Engineering of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China. Electronic address:

Aims: Orf virus (ORFV) is a parapoxvirus causing contagious ecthyma in sheep and goats. With inhibitory role of ORFV reported by previous studies, ORFV can be a candidate of oncolytic virus. However, few studies reported the application and mechanism of ORFV in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Read More

Biomedicines 2021 Dec 8;9(12). Epub 2021 Dec 8.

Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.

Although dengue virus (DENV) affects almost half of the world's population there are neither preventive treatments nor any long-lasting and protective vaccines available at this time. The complexity of the protective immune response to DENV is still not fully understood. The most advanced vaccine candidates focus specifically on humoral immune responses and the production of virus-neutralizing antibodies. Read More

Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2022 Jan 9;243:110365. Epub 2021 Dec 9.

Croatian Veterinary Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Electronic address:

Aujeszky's disease (AD) is a viral infectious disease caused by Suid herpesvirus 1 (SuHV-1). Vaccination and eradication of AD in domestic pigs is possible using marker vaccines with attenuated or inactivated SuHV-1, or subunit vaccines. However, vaccines with attenuated SuHV-1 have shown to be more potent in inducing strong cell-mediated immune response. Read More

J Gen Virol 2021 12;102(12)

Virus Research Unit, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Orf virus (ORFV) is the type species of the genus of the family. Genetic and functional studies have revealed ORFV has multiple immunomodulatory genes that manipulate innate immune responses, during the early stage of infection. is a novel gene of ORFV with hitherto unknown function. Read More

J Pediatr 2022 Apr 1;243:236-237. Epub 2021 Dec 1.

Department of Paediatrics, Fribourg Hospital HFR, Fribourg, Switzerland; Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.

Vaccines (Basel) 2021 Nov 17;9(11). Epub 2021 Nov 17.

Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.

Orf virus (ORFV), the prototype species of the parapoxvirus genus, is the causative agent of contagious ecthyma, an extremely devastating skin disease of sheep, goats, and humans that causes enormous economic losses in livestock production. ORFV is known for its ability to repeatedly infect both previously infected and vaccinated sheep due to several immunomodulatory genes encoded by the virus that temporarily suppress host immunity. Therefore, the development of novel, safe and effective vaccines against ORFV infection is an important priority. Read More

Front Immunol 2021 5;12:747574. Epub 2021 Nov 5.

Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States.

Swine influenza is a highly contagious respiratory disease of pigs caused by influenza A viruses (IAV-S). IAV-S causes significant economic losses to the swine industry and poses challenges to public health given its zoonotic potential. Thus effective IAV-S vaccines are needed and highly desirable and would benefit both animal and human health. Read More

Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2022 01 18;33(1):e13666. Epub 2021 Nov 18.

Division of Pediatric Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.

Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2021 Dec 26;23:434-447. Epub 2021 Aug 26.

Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.

Poxviruses have been used extensively as vaccine vectors for human and veterinary medicine and have recently entered the clinical realm as immunotherapies for cancer. We present a comprehensive method for producing high-quality lots of the poxvirus (OrfV) for use in preclinical models of vaccinology and cancer therapy. OrfV is produced using a permissive sheep skin-derived cell line and is released from infected cells by repeated freeze-thaw combined with sonication. Read More

FEBS Lett 2021 12 22;595(23):2897-2908. Epub 2021 Nov 22.

Graduate Institute of Microbiology and Public Health, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Cellular double-stranded RNA-binding proteins (DRBPs) play important roles in the regulation of innate immune responses and microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis. The current study aimed to understand whether OV20.0, a DRBP of orf virus (ORFV), is involved in cellular RNA biogenesis via association with host DRBPs. Read More

Virus Res 2022 01 3;307:198619. Epub 2021 Nov 3.

Virus Research Unit, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Electronic address:

Orf virus (ORFV) is the type species of the Parapoxvirus genus that belongs to the Poxviridae family. Type I interferons (IFN) are critical in the host defence against viruses. They induce hundreds of interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) many of which have an antiviral role. Read More

Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis 2021 Dec 21;79:101714. Epub 2021 Oct 21.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, 14155-6453 Tehran, Iran.

The primary cause of contagious ecthyma is the orf virus, the parapoxvirus prototype. It is a viral problem observed in goat and sheep flocks in Iran, causing economic loss. Orf is a zoonosis with little epidemiological investigation present in Iran. Read More

Front Vet Sci 2021 12;8:707787. Epub 2021 Oct 12.

Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Pullman, WA, United States.

Previous serological screenings have indicated that Eurasian semi-domesticated tundra reindeer () in Finnmark, Northern Norway, are exposed to alphaherpesvirus, gammaherpesvirus and pestivirus. Alphaherpesvirus (i.e. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2021 10 6;17(10):e1009971. Epub 2021 Oct 6.

Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America.

Viruses have evolved mechanisms to subvert critical cellular signaling pathways that regulate a wide range of cellular functions, including cell differentiation, proliferation and chemotaxis, and innate immune responses. Here, we describe a novel ORFV protein, ORFV113, that interacts with the G protein-coupled receptor Lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPA1). Consistent with its interaction with LPA1, ORFV113 enhances p38 kinase phosphorylation in ORFV infected cells in vitro and in vivo, and in cells transiently expressing ORFV113 or treated with soluble ORFV113. Read More

JAAD Case Rep 2021 Oct 14;16:113-115. Epub 2021 Aug 14.

Department of Dermatology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway.

Virol J 2021 08 14;18(1):167. Epub 2021 Aug 14.

Animal Production and Health Section, Animal Production and Health Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, 1400, Vienna, Austria.

Background: Poxviruses within the Capripoxvirus, Orthopoxvirus, and Parapoxvirus genera can infect livestock, with the two former having zoonotic importance. In addition, they induce similar clinical symptoms in common host species, creating a challenge for diagnosis. Although endemic in the country, poxvirus infections of small ruminants and cattle have received little attention in Botswana, with no prior use of molecular tools to diagnose and characterize the pathogens. Read More