Tanapox is an uncommon viral infection primarily seen in equatorial Africa.
The name is derived from the Tana River Valley in Kenya.
Primary host: monkeys
Transmission: usually by mosquitoes, with rare human-to-human transmission
Clinical features:
(1) severe headache, backache and fever at onset
(2) tender, erythematous skin nodule with central umbilication
The skin lesion can later ulcerate.
A skin biopsy of the skin lesion will show eosinophilic inclusions consistent with a poxvirus infection.
Definitive diagnosis is usually made by PCR.
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Specialty: Infectious Diseases
