Viral Papilloma - Warts - Bad ones!

[Minnie]

Gee Tim,

I've never seen anything like it, and I thought my girl with warts had them terribly.

That may make me a whinging ocker. :laugh:

Margaret, pleased you could get hold of some vets, nothing worse than the feeling of isolation when we can't get help.

Vicki

[Joey Baker Cresswell]

The pictures look very similar to certain types of sarcoids in horses which are thought to be virally transmitted and some people think that horses near cattle are more likely to get them possibly spread by the flies. Perhaps Duncan has some thoughts on this?

[Duncan MacIntyre]

As far as I know the relationship between sarcoids in horses and warts in cattle is not fully understoon even by the experts, but what is known is that some genetic material occurs in both conditions. I don't think that it has been established that there can be cross infection between horses and cows or vice versa, but it is thought that there may have been some common ancestry between the different viruses in the past. If the last bit is true then there is really little danger to horses from cattle with warts or to cattle from horses with sarcoids.

I m quite optomistic that Tim's heifers will throw off the warts in due course and that there is every chance that there will be a normal udder hiding under all that we see just now.p

Duncan

[wagra dexters]

Our heifer who had the different mole-like growths recovered completely even though we were warned they could return where they were excised and that other related animals in the herd could have the same. Neither occurred.
Margaret

[wagra dexters]

Tim, I hope your heifer has improved.
How are things going with her?
Margaret

[Adam Lowline]

Hi, we have a cow who is of Woodmagic lines, she came as a 9month old calf and had no obvious warts. Now aged 20months she has two small warts on her eye and a collection if 3 cauliflower looking ones, about golfball size each, on her neck. The vet looked a couple of weeks ago and said they were like teenage spits and would just go of their own accord. But now I'm really concerned that it might be much worse! She looks in great health, shiny coat, plenty if weight. Is it possible that they could spread to the other 4dexters we have?
Is it possible that certain lines can carry a wart gene?
Has anyone else with woodmagic breeding come accross these large warts?
Should I leave her alone or enquire about the vaccine?
Any ideas how costly it is?
Any opinions would be very welcome, many thanks
Adam

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Hello Adam,

I am not aware of particular families being particularly prone to warts, though I suppose this is possible. Tim and I got into a discussion on this thread and we both had Woodmagic heifers with warts, but this is almost certainly more to do with the fact that we had both got heifers from Beryl within the time span that wart virus circulating in the Woodmagic herd meant that we both bought the warts with the heifers. I have since had one or two of my own breeding take them in 2011, but I expect the new cases willl cease when it has been all round the herd and produced immunity.

I would not worry about vaccine unless she is either particularly valuable or you are in a hurry to get rid of them to allow showing or selling. Although warts can now and then have permanent effects, these cases are very rare and probably something like 99.9% of wart cases make a full recovery without any help from us.

Warts can cause trouble on either udder of heifers or on penis in bulls. You might want to be sure they are gone before you introduce a bull which has not previously been exposed to that strain of warts, but if you are using a bull present in the herd for some years I would not be too worried.

Duncan