Emine Nur Dincer

1 Introduction Contagious ecthyma, caused by the Orf virus (ORFV; Parapoxvirus, Chordopoxvirinae, Poxviridae, Chitovirales), is a globally distributed zoonotic disease of sheep and goats [1]. ORFV is highly resilient, remaining infectious for years, and transmits via damaged skin, contaminated crusts or direct contact, including during dipping [2-4]. Morbidity is typically ~15%, yet secondary bacterial infections can raise mortality to 100% [5-7].