Viral infections commonly result in skin lesions and rashes. Typically, a rash occurs, and resolution is seen after the immune system clears the infection. This is a common pattern in children.
Some viruses lie dormant in the host's cells and reactivate at a later time, sometimes years later.
Another pattern is a chronic infection. Viruses can infect the skin by direct inoculation, by local spread, or by systemic infection. The virus growth cycle has four stages. First, the virus attaches to a receptor on the cell's membrane. Second, the virus penetrates the cell either by fusing with the membrane or by being engulfed by the cell and delivered into its interior.