Detection and characterisation of papillomavirus in skin lesions of giraffe and sable antelope in South Africa

van Dyk, E.;Bosman, A-M.;van Wilpe, E.;Williams, J.H.;Bengis, R.G.;van Heerden, J.;Venter, E.H.

Abstract

Papillomavirus was detected electron microscopically in cutaneous fibropapillomas of a giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and a sable antelope (Hippotragus niger). The virus particles measured 45 nm in diameter. Histopathologically, the lesions showed histopathological features similar to those of equine sarcoid as well as positive immunoperoxidase-staining of tissue sections for papillomavirus antigen. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detected bovine papillomavirus (BPV) DNA. Bovine papillomavirus-1 was characterised by real-time PCR in the sable and giraffe, and cloning and sequencing of the PCR product revealed a similarity to BPV-1. As in the 1st giraffe, the lesions from a 2nd giraffe revealed locally malignant pleomorphism, possibly indicating the lesional end-point of papilloma infection. Neither virus particles nor positively staining papillomavirus antigen could be demonstrated in the 2nd giraffe but papillomavirus DNA was detected by real-time PCR which corresponded with BPV-1 and BPV-2.

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Journal of the South African Veterinary Association

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0038-2809

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South African Veterinary Association

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DOI

10.4102/jsava.v82i2.39