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

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Authors

Van Dyk, Enette
Bosman, Anna-Mari
Van Wilpe, Erna
Williams, June Heather
Bengis, Roy G.
Van Heerden, J.
Venter, Estelle Hildegard

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South African Veterinary Association

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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Keywords

Cutaneous fibropapillomas, Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), Hippotragus niger, Malignant pleomorphism, Skin lesions

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Citation

Van Dyk, E, Bosman, A-M, Van Wilpe, E, Williams, JH, Bengis, RG, Van Heerden, J & Venter, EH 2011, ‘Detection and characterisation of papillomavirus in skin lesions of giraffe and sable antelope in South Africa’, Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, vol. 82, no. 2, pp. 80–85.