We investigated healthy skin and mucosal specimens of wild ruminants in the Italian Alps. We identified bovine papillomavirus (BPV)-2 DNA in the healthy skin of wild ruminants and documented coinfection of BPV-1 and Cervus elaphus papillomavirus (CePV)-1 in a healthy red deer (Cervus elaphus). We also demonstrated cross-infections of BPVs of the genus Xipapillomavirus, both as single virus infection and also in association with Deltapapillomavirus types 1 and 2, confirming that host tropism of papillomaviruses is not as species-specific as previously thought. Our results suggest that subclinical infections could be linked to the presence of domestic ruminants sharing the same habitat with wild species and that the wildlife may act as a reservoir for papillomaviruses affecting domestic species.
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1 January 2016
PAPILLOMAVIRUS IN HEALTHY SKIN AND MUCOSA OF WILD RUMINANTS IN THE ITALIAN ALPS
Federica Savini,
Emanuela Dal Molin,
Laura Gallina,
Giovanni Casà,
Alessandra Scagliarini
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Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 52 • No. 1
January 2016
Vol. 52 • No. 1
January 2016
bovidae
Cervidae
coinfection
mucosa
papillomavirus
skin