A Papovavirus is any member of the former virus

Virus

A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...

 family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of Papovaviridae. They are mainly associated with various neoplasms in mammals. The family of Papovaviridae is not longer used in recent taxonomy, but is split into the Papillomaviridae

Papillomaviridae

Papillomaviridae is an ancient taxonomic family of non-enveloped DNA viruses, collectively known as papillomaviruses. Several hundred species of papillomaviruses, traditionally referred to as "types", have been identified infecting all carefully inspected birds and mammals, but also a small number...

and the Polyomaviridae.

The name derives from three abbreviations: Pa for papillomavirus

Papillomavirus

Papillomaviridae is an ancient taxonomic family of non-enveloped DNA viruses, collectively known as papillomaviruses. Several hundred species of papillomaviruses, traditionally referred to as "types", have been identified infecting all carefully inspected birds and mammals, but also a small number...

, Po for polyomavirus

Polyomavirus

Polyomavirus is the sole genus of viruses within the family Polyomaviridæ. Murine polyomavirus was the first polyomavirus discovered by Ludwik Gross in 1953. Subsequently, many polyomaviruses have been found to infect birds and mammals...

, and Va for "vacuolating" (simian vacuolating virus 40 or SV40

SV40

SV40 is an abbreviation for Simian vacuolating virus 40 or Simian virus 40, a polyomavirus that is found in both monkeys and humans...

, which is now known to be part of the polyomavirus genus).

Papovaviruses are DNA virus

DNA virus

A DNA virus is a virus that has DNA as its genetic material and replicates using a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase. The nucleic acid is usually double-stranded DNA but may also be single-stranded DNA . DNA viruses belong to either Group I or Group II of the Baltimore classification system for viruses...

es containing double-stranded DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

, are icosahedral

Icosahedron

In geometry, an icosahedron is a regular polyhedron with 20 identical equilateral triangular faces, 30 edges and 12 vertices. It is one of the five Platonic solids....

 in shape, and do not have a lipoprotein

Lipoprotein

A lipoprotein is a biochemical assembly that contains both proteins and lipids water-bound to the proteins. Many enzymes, transporters, structural proteins, antigens, adhesins, and toxins are lipoproteins...

 envelope.

They are commonly found in humans and other species, mostly mammals. The one that most often causes disease in humans is the human papillomavirus

Human papillomavirus

Human papillomavirus is a member of the papillomavirus family of viruses that is capable of infecting humans. Like all papillomaviruses, HPVs establish productive infections only in keratinocytes of the skin or mucous membranes...

.