Molecular Characterization and Developing a Point-of-Need Molecular Test for Diagnosis of Bovine Papillomavirus (BPV) Type 1 in Cattle from Egypt

Bovine papillomatosis is a viral disease of cattle causing cutaneous warts. A diagnosis of this viral infection is very mandatory for combating the resulting economic losses. Given the limited data available about bovine papillomavirus (BPV) in Egypt, the present study involved the molecular diagnosis of bovine papillomavirus type-1 (BPV-1), -2, -4, -5, and -10 in cattle presenting cutaneous warts on the head and neck from New Valley Province, Egypt. The phylogenetic analysis of the detected types of BPV was also performed, followed by developing a point-of-need molecular assay for the rapid identification of identified BPV types. In this regard, a total of 308 cattle from private farms in Egypt were clinically examined, of which 13 animals presented cutaneous warts due to suspected BPV infection. The symptomatic animals were treated surgically, and biopsies from skin lesions were collected for BPV-1, -2, -4, -5, and -10 molecular identification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The presence of BPV-1 DNA was confirmed in 11 collected samples (84.6%), while BPV-2, -4, -5, and -10 were not detected. Sequencing of the PCR products suggested the Egyptian virus is closely related to BPV found in India. An isothermal nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) with labeled primers specific for the BPV-1 L1 gene sequence, and based on recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), in combination with a lateral flow strip assay for the detection of RPA products, was developed and tested. The point-of-need molecular assay demonstrated a diagnostic utility comparable to PCR-based testing. Taken together, the present study provides interesting molecular data related to the occurrence of BPV-1 in Egypt and reveals the genetic relatedness of the Egyptian BPV-1 with BPV-1 found in buffalo in India. In addition, a simple, low-cost combined test was also validated for diagnosis of the infection. The present study suggests the necessity of future investigations about the circulating strains of the virus among the cattle in Egypt to assess their genetic relatedness and better understand the epidemiological pattern of the disease.