LAUSR

dine. Five days after initiation of the treatment, evolution was favorable with apyrexia, the lack of new lesions, and dried pustules (Fig. 2). Polymerase chain reaction testing of a pustule fluid was positive for HSV-1 and negative for varicella-zoster virus. We report here on a new case of acute HSV-1 infection after tattooing or “herpes compuctorum” as suggested by Marshall et al. in 2007. The mechanism of inoculation remains open to discussion. The patient did not have any herpes recurrence during the tattooing procedure. We could not assess whether the tattooist had any herpes infection during tattooing, particularly herpetic whitlow on a finger or labial recurrence. Contamination of the needle or of the stock bottle of ink remains unlikely as the rash was not strictly restricted to the tattoo drawings. We rather support the possibility of overinfection of a fresh healing wound, as it is observed in some chronic skin conditions (atopic eczema, Darier’s disease, Hailey–Hailey disease, or pemphigus). The rapid onset of painful pustules on a tattoo should immediately evoke the possibility of a local herpetic infection.