The same study also observed evidence of an additional protein, called tiny T, and of an alternatively spliced form of large tumor antigen known as ALTO.

[7] Trichodysplasia spinulosa is a proliferative skin disorder[8][9] that occurs in immunocompromised people and is considered benign, but can be disfiguring.

[10] It was suspected to be associated with viral infection on the basis of the patient population in which it appeared, and electron microscopy studies of clinical samples identified virus-like particles of a size and shape consistent with a polyomavirus.

Estimates of seroprevalence - that is, prevalence of detectable antibodies against viral proteins - in immunocompetent adults range from 70 to 80% in different sample populations.

[9][16][17] TSPyV infects the skin, but viral DNA is rarely detectable there in asymptomatic individuals even if they possess antibodies to the virus indicating exposure.