An oral mass was surgically excised from the gingiva of a pig. As the mass had a similar histological appearance to an equine sarcoid, DNA was extracted and consensus PCR primers used to amplify papillomavirus (PV) DNA. DNA sequences from Ovis aries papillomavirus (OaPV) type 2 were amplified both from a section of the entire mass as well as an area deeper within the mass away from the surface of the lesion. No other PV types were detected within the oral lesion. Ovis aries PV2 is a Delta PV that is closely related to the bovine Delta PVs that cause sarcoids in horses and cats. These results suggest that OaPV2 may be able to infect pigs and this virus could have caused the mesenchymal neoplasm in the mouth of this pig. This is the first evidence that a non-bovine PV can infect a non-host species and the first report of a sarcoid-like mass in pigs. These observations add to the range of species in which PV-associated neoplasia has been reported and suggest that cross-species infection by other Delta PV types may be possible.
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