This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages without signing in

Aetiology

Authoring team

Molluscum contagiosum is a viral infection, often appearing in crops as a result of self inoculation and person to person contact. The lesions are caused by the molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), a member of the poxvirus family of large, complex, enveloped DNA viruses.

MCV is classified into two major genotypes: subtypes 1 and 2 (each of which includes several variants). Their relative abundance is known to vary geographically, although subtype 1 is the most prevalent globally.

Steroid cream and chapped, damp skin encourages spread.

It is more common in the atopic.

Reference

  1. Meza-Romero R, Navarrete-Dechent C, Downey C. Molluscum contagiosum: an update and review of new perspectives in etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2019;12:373-381.

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.