Viral skin infections typically cause a skin rash, sore or lesion. And these skin problems may be accompanied by other symptoms if the skin infecting virus is capable and able to spread to other parts of your body.
One factor that may prevent a virus from spreading is the type of virus itself. For instance, there are two common viral skin infections that infect the skin only, i.e. warts and molluscum contagiosum.
Another factor is your immune system. Viral skin infections tend to be more aggressive if your immunity is impaired, especially a problem with lymphocyte production. An example is increased incidence of skin rashes, sores and lesions in those suffering from HIV because of a weakened immune system.
Three principal virus types cause the majority of viral skin infection’s rash, sore and lesion problems, they are:
- poxvirus
- herpes simplex virus
- human papillomavirus
There are many different types of viral skin infections, ranging from common to rare and mild to severe. Several of the commonly known viral infections that may cause rashes, sores, lesions or other skin problems are:
- orf
- roseola
- cowpox
- shingles
- cold sores
- chickenpox
- fifth disease
- Dengue fever
- genital herpes
- pityriasis rosea
- milker’s nodules
- hemorrhagic fever
- Chikungunya fever
- eczema herpeticum
- molluscum contagiosum
- Gianotti-Crosti syndrome
- measles, German measles
- hand foot and mouth disease
- warts, plantar warts, genital warts
- smallpox ~ believed to be totally eradicated
Enterovirus, echovirus, adenovirus pathogens can cause rashes as well. And infections via virus are believed to sometimes be an associative cause of:
A couple of characteristics of certain types of viral infections are:
- some cause chronic infection
- some are contagious infectious disease
- some lie dormant in your cells for many years & can flare up without warning
Immunizations has significantly reduced the incidence of measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox viral skin infections.