Signs and symptoms
The incubation period in human cases remains unknown, but in a person who underwent voluntary inoculation, erythema and central thickening appear by the fourth day. Most patients present a mild pre-eruptive fever that lasts 3–4 days, severe headaches and backaches, and often itching at the site where the skin lesion develops. There is initially a small nodule, without any central abrasion. This small nodule soon becomes papular and gradually enlarges to reach a maximum diameter of about 15 mm by the end of the second week of infection. The draining lymph nodes are also enlarged and tender from about the fifth day following the appearance of the skin lesion. The lesion remains mostly nodular but, ulcerates during the third week and then gradually heals within five to six weeks, leaving a scar. In Kenya, the lesions were almost always solitary and were found on the upper arm, face, neck, and truck. Conversely, in Zaire, 22% of patients had multiple lesions, usually two or three. The maximum number of lesions seen in one patient was ten. In the case of Zairian patients, the lesions were mostly found on the lower limbs, with a couple of patients reporting lesions on the upper limbs, trunk, and head.Histopathology
Tanapox virus in humans produces increased thickening of the epidermis with extensive degeneration of the prickle cell layer. The cytoplasm of the swollen epidermal cells is filled with large, pleomorphic, eosinophilic B-type inclusion bodies. Nuclei of infected cells are also swollen, with chromatin being concentrated at the nuclear periphery.Epidemiology
Human tanapox has been mostly documented inReferences
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7682310 Virus-related cutaneous conditions Poxviruses