Combination of Essential Oil of Melaleuca alternifolia and Iodine in the Treatment of Molluscum Contagiosum in Children

correlation between the number of lesions present on a child at the beginning of the study and treatment effect.

Molluscum contagiosum virus is a cytoplasmically replicating, double stranded DNA virus possessing a complex genome encoding approximately 182 proteins⁸ and exhibits genetic heterogeneity with four types, MCV-1 to MCV-4 and their variants.^32,33 In small children, the majority of infections are caused by MCV-1; whereas, in patients infected with HIV, MCV-2 causes the majority (60 %) of infections.³⁴ The genetic makeup of the MCV in this present study is unknown. Furthermore, it is unclear if genetic heterogeneity contributed to the differential effects observed, with some strains being sensitive to TTO-I application while others were not.

Clinically, MC is frequently seen on the face, neck, axillae, arms, and abdomen but may occur anywhere on the body except the palms and soles.^5,12,19 It occurs predominantly in pre-adolescent children, but also occurs in sexually active adults as an STD,