Focal epithelial hyperplasia of the mouth: recently discovered in South Africa.

Seventy-six cases of focal epithelial hyperplasia are encountered during an epidemiological survey in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. They affected only Cape Coloureds and were confined to pupils of reform schools and residents of a secluded community. This pattern of distribution, coupled with its typical clinical and histological features and the fact that viral particles were observed in lesions, indicates a communicable disease of viral origin, possibly a virus of the papova group. The recent discovery of its presence in South Africa indicates that it may be newly introduced into the country or that it is a new or hitheto undetected manifestation of an existing viral disease.