Amdoparvoviruses (family Parvoviridae) are ssDNA viruses that cause an immune complex-mediated wasting syndrome in carnivores. They are multi-host pathogens and cross-species infection is facilitated by the fact that viral entry is mediated by cellular Fc receptors recognizing antibody-coated viruses. We developed a pan-amdoparvovirus PCR and screened tissue samples from 666 wild carnivores (families Felidae, Canidae, and Mustelidae) from Newfoundland or Labrador (Canada) and molecularly characterized the identified strains. Fifty-four out of 666 (8.1%) animals were amdoparvovirus-positive. Infection rate was the highest in American mink (34/47, 72.3%), followed by foxes (Arctic and red foxes, 13/311, 4.2%), lynx (2/58, 3.5%), and American martens (5/156, 3.4%). No virus was detected in samples from 87 coyotes and 17 ermines. Viruses from Newfoundland were classified as Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV). Mink harvested near AMDV-affected fur farms had higher prevalence (24/24, 100%) than other mink (10/23, 43.5%; p < 0.001) and their viruses were phylogenetically closely related to those from farms, while most viruses from other mink were in other clades. Strains from 3 foxes and 2 lynx were highly related to mink strains. This proves that farms disperse AMDV that subsequently spreads among wild mink (maintenance host) and transmits to other spillover carnivore hosts. In Labrador two novel viruses were identified, Labrador amdoparvovirus 1 (LaAV-1) found in foxes (9/261, 3.5%) and martens (5/156, 3.4%), and LaAV-2 found in one fox (0.4%). LaAV-1 fulfills all requirements to be classified as a novel species. LaAV-1 was most similar to viruses of mink and skunks (AMDV and skunk amdoparvovirus (SKAV)) while LaAV-2 was more closely related to other viruses infecting canids. LaAV-1 capsid proteins were almost indistinguishable from those of AMDV in some regions, suggesting that LaAV-1 could be a virus of mustelids that can infect foxes. While intensive farming practices provide occasions for inter-species transmission in farms, niche overlap or predation could explain cross-species transmission in the wild, but competition among sympatric species reduces the chances of direct contacts, making this an infrequent event. Pan-amdoparvovirus detection methods in wide epidemiological investigations can play a crucial role in defining amdoparvoviral ecology and evolution and discovering novel viruses.
Some parvoviruses of carnivorans can infect multiple host species. Since many canine parvoviruses were only discovered recently, their host-range is still unexplored. We examined the host distribution and diversity of five dog parvoviruses in four canine populations from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and investigated the potential for these viruses to cross the species barriers. Canine bocavirus 2 (CBoV-2) and the minute virus of canines were detected in stool from free-roaming dogs from Labrador (5/48 [10.4%] and 3/48 [6.3%], respectively) and two different CBoV-2 variants were identified. Canine bufavirus was identified in stool from free-roaming dogs (1/48, 2.1%) and foxes (3/80, 3.8%) from Labrador, but two different variants were observed in the two host species. The variant found in foxes was highly divergent from previously identified strains. Two cachavirus 1 variants, genetically similar to those circulating in other Canadian wildlife, were found in spleens from Newfoundland coyotes (3/87, 3.5%).Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) was found in stool from free-roaming dogs from Labrador (2/48, 4.2%) and in spleens from Newfoundland coyotes (3/87, 3.5%). Comparing CPV-2 sequences from these hosts to those retrieved from local symptomatic domestic dogs revealed the presence of a highly heterogeneous viral population as detected strains belonged to five different clades. The close relationship between CPV-2a strains from a dog and a coyote suggests the occurrence of viral transfer between wild and domestic canids. The identification of highly related strains with a similar molecular signature characteristic of older CPV-2 strains in free-roaming and domestic dogs suggests a probable common ancestry and that older CPV-2 strains, which have not been identified in dogs since the 1990s, persist in this part of Canada. Followup studies should evaluate samples from a larger number of animals and host species to extensively investigate the possible occurrence of cross-species transmission for recently discovered parvoviruses.
The genus Protoparvovirus (family Parvoviridae) includes several viruses of carnivores. We describe a novel fox protoparvovirus, which we named Newlavirus as it was discovered in samples from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Analysis of the full non-structural protein (NS1) sequence indicates that this virus is a previously uncharacterized species. Newlavirus showed high prevalence in foxes from both the mainland (Labrador, 54/137, 39.4%) and the island of Newfoundland (22/50, 44%) but was not detected in samples from other carnivores, including coyotes (n = 92), lynx (n = 58), martens (n = 146), mink (n = 47), ermines (n = 17), dogs (n = 48), and ringed (n = 4), harp (n = 6), bearded (n = 6), and harbor (n = 2) seals. Newlavirus was found at similar rates in stool and spleen (24/80, 30% vs. 59/152, 38.8%, p = 0.2) but at lower rates in lymph nodes (2/37, 5.4%, p < 0.01). Sequencing a fragment of approximately 750 nt of the capsid protein gene from 53 samples showed a high frequency of co-infection by more than one strain (33.9%), high genetic diversity with 13 genotypes with low sequence identities (70.5–87.8%), and no geographic segregation of strains. Given the high prevalence, high diversity, and the lack of identification in other species, foxes are likely the natural reservoir of Newlavirus, and further studies should investigate its distribution.
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