View source for Tanapox

{{Medref|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox medical condition
| name            = Tanapox
| field           = [[Infectious disease (medical speciality)|Infectious disease]]
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| causes          =Tanapox virus
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'''Tanapox''' (a virus from the genus ''[[Yatapoxvirus]]'') was first seen among individuals in the [[Floodplain|flood plain]] of the [[Tana River (Kenya)|Tana River]] in [[Kenya]] during two epidemics (1957 and 1962) of acute febrile illness accompanied by localized skin lesions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Downie |first1=A. W. |last2=Taylor-Robinson |first2=C. H. |last3=Caunt |first3=Anne E. |last4=Nelson |first4=G. S. |last5=Manson-Bahr |first5=P. E. C. |last6=Matthews |first6=T. C. H. |date=1971-02-02 |title=Tanapox: A New Disease Caused by a Pox Virus |journal=British Medical Journal |language=en |volume=1 |issue=5745 |pages=363–368 |doi=10.1136/bmj.1.5745.363 |pmid=5541925|pmc=1795031 }}</ref>
==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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref>{{Citation |last=Munoz |first=Flor M. |title=26 - Viral Exanthems |date=2024-01-01 |work=Manson's Tropical Diseases (Twenty-Fourth Edition) |pages=268–282 |editor-last=Farrar |editor-first=Jeremy |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780702079597000269 |access-date=2024-09-18 |place=Philadelphia (PA) |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-7020-7959-7 |editor2-last=Garcia |editor2-first=Patricia |editor3-last=Hotez |editor3-first=Peter |editor4-last=Junghanss |editor4-first=Thomas}}</ref>
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&nbsp;mm by the end of the second week of infection. The draining [[lymph node]]s 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.{{cn|date=May 2021}}
==Histopathology==
Tanapox virus in humans produces increased thickening of the epidermis with extensive degeneration of the [[Spinous cell|prickle cell]] layer. The [[cytoplasm]] of the swollen epidermal cells is filled with large, [[eosinophilic]], pleomorphic, [[B-type inclusion|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 in [[Kenya]] and [[Zaire]], but it is believed to occur much more widely throughout tropical Africa. All age groups and both sexes appear to be affected by this virus. During the Kenyan epidemics of 1957 and 1962, cases of tanapox were reported more frequently among persons who worked or played close to the river. As a result of this, researchers concluded that tanapox is most likely a [[zoonosis]].<ref name=":0" /> However, neither the reservoir host nor the mode of transmission from wild animal to human is known. It is hypothesized that tanapox virus may be transferred from monkeys or another reservoir host to humans by infected [[arthropod]]s that act as mechanical vectors. Only one case of human to human transmission has been reported.{{cn|date=May 2021}}
== References ==
[[Category:Virus-related cutaneous conditions]]
[[Category:Poxviruses]]
<references />
== External links ==
{{Medical resources
|   ICD10       = {{ICD10|B|08|8|b|00}} ([[ILDS]] B08.830)
|   ICD9        = {{ICD9|059.21}}
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{{Viral cutaneous conditions}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7682310}}{{Zoonotic viral diseases}}