CASE REPORT: A SPORADIC BOVINE PAPULAR STOMATITIS VIRUS INFECTION IN DAIRY CALVES IN SOUTH TAIWAN

An outbreak of a disease with multiple erosive papules and ulcers on the lips, noses, and tongues of calves was reported in Taiwan in August 2023. Five of 11 2–4-month-old dairy calves were affected. Oral swabs, nasal swabs, and esophageal–pharyngeal fluid were collected and tested positive for bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV) via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (qPCR) for all of the affected calves. All of the positive calves remained positive for BPSV after 1 month of the outbreak, and the viral loads of the affected calves did not decrease within this period. To determine the genetic characteristics of this outbreak strain, phylogenetic analysis was performed with the partial B2L sequence of BPSV. The results revealed that the virus strain was closely related to isolates from Japan, the United States, and France. This is the first report on an outbreak in this particular region since 1988 and the first molecular characterization of BPSV in Taiwan.