Outbreak of bovine papular stomatitis with concurrent cryptosporidiosis in a dairy herd in Turkey

Abstract

Bovine papular stomatitis (BPS) is a viral disease of cattle characterised by proliferative and pustular lesions on muzzle, nostrils and buccal mucosa. BPS has a low mortality rate, however can cause important economical impact to dairy industry. Cryptosporidiosis is a disease calves characterised by yellow, watery and mucus containing diarrhoea. Etiopathogenesis of both diseases are closely related with the immune status of the host. The aim of the presented study was to document the first case of BPS infection with concurrent cryptosporidiosis in calves. Fifteen calves aged between 3–6 weeks from a dairy herd in Turkey showed clinical signs such as diarrhoea and ocular-nasal seromucous discharges. Clinical examination of the calves revealed that they were suffering from stomatitis characterised by proliferative lesions. Lesions were removed surgically for histopathological examination. Calves were treated with spiramycin and an immunomodulator (Zylexis®, Pfizer, Istanbul, Turkey). All calves were cured following the treatment. Histopathological examination revealed findings consistent with poxvirus infections such as ballooning and degeneration of the epithelial cells and cytoplasmic viral inclusions. Results of the presented study indicate that BPS is an infectious disease that must be considered as a secondary disease in Cryptosporidium infections. Zoonotic nature of both diseases makes the problem threatening for public health.