Epidemiology, zoonotic implication and diagnosis of camelpox: A comprehensive review

Camelpox is an economically important, notifiable skin disease of camelids and could be used as a potential bio-warfare agent. The disease is caused by the camelpox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. Young calves and pregnant females are more susceptible. Tentative diagnosis of camelpox can be made based on clinical signs and pox lesion, but it may confuse with other viral diseases like contagious etyma and papillomatosis. Hence, specific, sensitive, rapid and cost-effective diagnostic techniques would be useful in identification, thereby early implementations of therapeutic and preventives measures to curb these diseases prevalence. Treatment is often directed to minimizing secondary infections by topical application or parenteral administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics and vitamins. The zoonotic importance of the disease should be further studied as humans today are highly susceptible to smallpox a very related and devastating virus eradicated from the globe. This review address an overview on the epidemiology, zoonotic impacts, diagnostic approaches and the preventive measures on camelpox.