Virology

e commer­ of orf virus. This was followed by a similar sampling of cial MagMAX™ Pathogen RNA/DNA kit (Thermo Fisher the lesions on days 1 (T1), 3 (T2) and 5 (T3) post- Scientific) and the automated magnetic particle processor treatment of all the lesions observed on the lambs. KingFisher Flex System (Thermo Fisher Scientific), fol­ Samples of 3mL of whole blood were also collected lowing the manufacturer’s instructions. Extracted DNA from the jugular vein through a vacutainer system into samples were stored at −80°C until end of sampling in EDTA tubes to perform haematology in all the animals order to evaluate all of them in a single run of real-time prior to (T0) and ten days (T4) following treatment, PCR quantification. Orf virus detection was performed For personal use only. respectively. using the commercial qPCR kit EXOone Contagious Ecthyma (Exopol, Spain) which targets the BL2 gene Treatment Application that encodes a major envelope viral antigen. The kit con­ Following confirmation of the presence of orf virus in the tains a quantified synthetic positive control, and also an lesions, a single spray of 1.5mL of TS was applied liber­ endogenous control to avoid false-negative results. ally with a spray gun to all orf lesions in Group A lambs, Amplification was performed on a FAST 7500 cycler with the Group B lambs remaining untreated. (Applied Biosystems), and a cut-off value for positive samples was established at cycle quantification (Cq) Clinical Progression values lower than 38. Clinical examination of all lambs was performed by obser­ vers blinded to treatment. This occurred daily for 11 days Virus Culture to determine the clinical progression of the lesions, with Sterile swabs collected at T0, T1, T2 and T3 were submitted data collected on the

-S; Dechra, UK) on lambs with contagious ecthyma. The con- centration of a marker of systemic inflammation, serum amyloid A (SAA), was measured during the clinical phase of CE in naturally and experimentally infected lambs, in cohorts either treated or not treated with the product. In the experimental infection, the treatment modified the SAA response, peaking earlier and at lower levels than in controls and show- ing significantly lower values at the completion of the experimental period than in controls. In the natural outbreak, SAA levels significantly decreased over time in the treated cohort, whereas in controls, levels remained stable at high values. These results indicate that this topical formulation reduces systemic inflammation in lambs with CE, providing supportive evidence that this is a promising non-antibiotic therapeutic alternative to current practice. Abstract Academic Editor: Clive J. C. Phillips Contagious ecthyma (CE) is a widespread, highly contagious zoonotic skin disease of Received: 10 November 2025 small ruminants caused by the Orf virus (ORFV), leading to substantial economic losses Revised: 4 December 2025 and welfare concerns. There is no specific treatment, with topical antiseptics and oral Accepted: 17 December 2025 or parenteral antibiotics often administered for preventing secondary infections, risking Published: 20 December 2025 antimicrobial resistance. This study assessed the effect of treating CE in lambs with an Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. antibiotic-free topical anaesthetic/antiseptic formulation (Tri-Solfen® ; T-S; Medical Ethics, Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Australia/MultiSolfen® ; M-S; Dechra, UK). Serum amyloid A (SAA), a marker of systemic This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and

17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles

17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 17510813, 2020, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12930. By National Health And Medical Research Council, Wiley Online Library on [30/03/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles