Bovine papillomatosis (BP) is a contagious disease of cattle as warts/papilloma on skin and mucosa, caused by bovine papilloma viruses (BPV) -1 to -10. Fifty three cases of cutaneous warts (CWs) were recorded in cattle. Grossly, they were cauliflower-like/dome- shaped and histopathologically, diagnosed as fibropapilloma and fibroblastic/occult papilloma with presence of koilocytes, keratohyaline granules and intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies. BPV-2 was detected by PCR and confirmed by sequencing. CWs were successfully transmitted to hamsters, cattle and buffaloes. Lesions in hamsters were early fibromatosis to fibroma and those in cattle and buffaloes were identical to those in natural cases. In this paper, we report spontaneous cases of papillomatosis in Indian cattle and its transmission to hamsters and cattle as well as buffaloes. BPV-2 induces hyperproliferation of keratinocytes, fibroblasts as well as lipocytes. BPV-like particles were demonstrated by negative staining in cattle CWs. Further, this is only second example of interspecies transmission of papilloma viruses in buffaloes, first being equine sarcoids due to BPV-1 and -2.
Bovine papillomatosis, BPV, Cutaneous warts, Fibropapilloma, Koilocytes
