Human orf in Israel. Report of three cases.

Orf, a viral disease of sheep and goats transmissible to man, is described in three patients living in Israeli cooperative settlements. Characteristically, the disease was manifested as a single, self-limited skin lesion in two of the patients, while in the third patient an unusual coexistence of orf and bullous pemphigoid was found. Not uncommonly, orf may be found in persons working with sheep and goats. Awareness of this disease by physicians may avoid unnecessary testing and treatments.