[sumo] Sumo virus

[Charles Finberg]

The first two abstracts in Scott Kahn's post of 9:08 a.m. today appear to
address the same subject.  See below.
I had been wondering whether YMY has a skin problem: See Martina Lunau's
great pix: http://www.sumo-webpaper.de/Natsu%20Basho/Pics_Day05b.htm

Scott M. Kahn to Sumo
show details 9:08 AM (11 hours ago) Reply

Since this was brought up, here are the results of a medline search
using the term, "sumo wrestlers".  Abstracts for most of these are
available on pubmed.  If you are really interested in getting
individual articles, let me know off-list.
Sukubidubidu
1: Ban F, Asano S, Ozawa S, Eda H, Norman J, Stroop WG, Yanagi K.
Analysis of herpes simplex virus type 1 restriction fragment length
polymorphism variants associated with herpes gladiatorum and
Kaposi's varicelliform eruption in sumo wrestlers.
J Gen Virol. 2008 Oct;89(Pt 10):2410-5.
2: Inui S, Itami S.
2 cases of sumo wrestlers' friction dermatitis.
Contact Dermatitis. 2008 Jun;58(6):374-5.

On Sun, Sep 28, 2008 at 8:29 PM, <Sumocypher at aol.com> wrote:

>
> This  is from BBC. I wonder if it's still prevalent  now.
>
> Nobody puts Asashoryu in the corner.
>
> 0
>
> _
> http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7
> 637982.stm_
> (
> http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7637982.stm
> )
>
>
>
> 'Sumo virus' warning is issued
> A viral skin condition linked to contact sports such as rugby and
>  wrestling
> has prompted warnings after two deaths in Japan.
> "Herpes gladiatorum" - dubbed "scrumpox" in the UK - is passed through
> broken
>  skin.
> The researchers, writing in the Journal of General Virology, studied 39
> infected sumo wrestlers.
> They said the unusual strain found was easily spread and more severe than
> other virus types.
>
> A UK expert said serious complications were normally 'highly unlikely'.
>
>     As two of the wrestlers died as a result of  their infections, cases
> like this do need to be investigated
> Dr Kazuo Yanagi
> National Institute of  Infectious Diseases, Tokyo
>
> The herpes infection is normally associated with the sexually-transmitted
> form, genital herpes, and cold sores, but in rare cases it can affect other
> parts of the body.
> Herpes gladiatorum is spread through broken skin, and has been often linked
> before with sports such as wrestling, which involve close body contact.
> It is generally diagnosed after the appearance of a rash of blisters, and
> while it can be treated with antiviral drugs, it can lie dormant in nearby
> nerve
>  endings, and may re-emerge on a regular basis to cause similar symptoms in
> patients who contract it.
> The Tokyo University researchers looked at samples taken from 39 sumo
> wrestlers diagnosed with herpes between 1989 and 1994.
> Ideal conditions
> Sumo wrestlers live and train communally in "stables" called "heyas",
> providing the perfect environment for the virus to spread.
> Two of the infected wrestlers died as a result of the severity of their
> illness, although it is not clear whether any other aspect of their health
> may
> have contributed to this.
> While one particular strain, BgOl, is historically associated with herpes
> gladiatorum, the researchers found another BgKl, was more prevalent in
> their
> samples.
> Dr Kazuo Yanagi, who led the research, said: "Herpes virus can hide in our
> nerve cells for long periods of time and symptoms can reappear later.
> "Our research showed that the BgKl strain of herpes is reactivated, spreads
> more efficiently and causes more severe symptoms that BgOl, and other
> strains.
>
> "As two of the wrestlers died as a result of their infections, cases like
> this do need to be investigated."
> He said he hoped that research would lead to better medicines to stop the
> disease from spreading.
> Scrum down
> "Scrumpox" is a generic term for skin infections of varying types spread
> through close contact during rugby matches, and is the most reported form
> of
> herpes gladiatorum in the UK.
> Professor Will Irving, a clinical virologist at Nottingham University, said
> it was rare, and that in otherwise healthy people, life-threatening
> complications were "very unlikely".
> He said: "The effect is like having cold sores, except that the lesions
> will
> come up on your back, or somewhere else on your skin, instead of your
> mouth.
> "To the vast majority of people, it would be a nuisance, but nothing more
> serious."
>
> Story from BBC  NEWS:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/7637982.stm
>
> Published:  2008/09/28 23:14:35 GMT
>
> (c) BBC MMVIII
>
>
>
>
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