To characterize canine coronavirus (CCoV) circulating in diarrheic puppies in Brazil, 250 fecal samples collected between 2006 and 2012 were tested. By using RT-PCR to partially amplify the M gene, CCoV RNA was detected in 30 samples. Sequence analysis of the M protein grouped eight strains with CCoV-I and another 19 with CCoV-II prototypes. To genotype/subtype the CCoV strains and assess the occurrence of single or multiple CCoV infections, RT-PCR of the S gene was performed, and 25/30 CCoV-positive strains amplified with one or two primer pairs. For 17/25 samples, single infections were detected as follows: six CCoV-I, nine CCoV-IIa and two CCoV-IIb. Eight samples were positive for more than one genotype/subtype as follows: seven CCoV-I/IIa and one CCoV-I/IIb. Sequence analysis revealed that the CCoV-I and IIa strains shared high genetic similarity to each other and to the prototypes. The Brazilian strains of CCoV-IIb displayed an aminoacid insertion that was also described in CCoV-IIb-UCD-1 and TGEV strains. Among the 25 CCoV-positive puppies, five had a fatal outcome, all but one of which were cases of mixed infection. The current study is the first reported molecular characterization of CCoV-I, IIa and IIb strains in Brazil.

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Feline caliciviruses (FCVs) have occasionally been described in cats in association with enteric disease, but an etiological role for these viruses in acute gastroenteritis is still unclear. In this study, molecular characterization of FCV and feline norovirus (FNoV) was undertaken using real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and sequence analysis of the ORF1 region in fecal specimens from 29 diarrheic cats. The specimens were also screened for parvovirus, coronavirus, astrovirus and group A rotavirus. A quantitative one step RT-PCR was also performed to detect and quantitate NoV genogroup IV and the role of these animal caliciviruses in feline gastroenteritis was investigated. This is the first description of enteric FCV and FNoV in South America.

Immunocompromised patients may develop severe chronic anaemia when infected by human parvovirus B19 (B19V). However, this is not the case in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with good adherence to highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART). In this study, we investigated the clinical evolution of five HIV-infected patients receiving HAART who had B19V infections confirmed by serum polymerase chain reaction. Four of the patients were infected with genotype 1a strains and the remaining patient was infected with a genotype 3b strain. Anaemia was detected in three of the patients, but all patients recovered without requiring immunoglobulin and/or blood transfusions. In all cases, the attending physicians did not suspect the B19V infections. There was no apparent relationship between the infecting genotype and the clinical course. In the HAART era, B19V infections in HIV-positive patients may be limited, subtle or unapparent.

B19V has been proposed as an etiologic agent for hepatitis, mainly in children, but this is a rare clinical occurrence. In this article, we report a case of non-A-E acute liver failure in an immunocompetent child with B19 infection. The clinical findings of severe anemia and pancytopenia combined with the detection of anti-B19 Immunoglobulin G (IgG), B19 DNA and B19 mRNA in liver indicate a persistent infection and suggest a diagnosis of parvovirus B19-associated acute liver failure.

Amostras fecais de cães com até seis meses de idade, com gastrenterite, foram testadas para a presença do parvovírus canino (CPV) pelo teste de hemaglutinação (HA) e confirmadas como positivas pelo teste de inibição da hemaglutinação. Noventa e duas das 208 amostras recebidas no período de abril de 1995 a novembro de 2000 foram positivas. Aproximadamente, 76% das amostras foram obtidas de cães entre dois e quatro meses de idade. Entre os 92 animais positivos para CPV-2, 28 tinham sido vacinados, e para 11 destes o resultado positivo do HA poderia ser devido a detecção do vírus vacina!. Através da reação em cadeia pela polimerase, pode-se confirmar a infecção pelo vírus selvagem em nove dos 11 animais vacinados. Neste estudo não foi possível observar que fatores como sexo ou raça possam ser importantes no desenvolvimento da doença, No período estudado, o parvovírus canino pode ser detectado, em todos os meses do ano, não apresentando sazonalidade definida.

The prevalence of anti-human parvovirus B19 IgG antibodies was determined in sera from 165 chronic hemolytic anemia patients, receiving medical care at Instituto Estadual de Hematologia (IEHE), Rio de Janeiro, during the year of 1994. This sample represents around 10% of the chronic hemolytic anemia patients attending at IEHE. Most of these patients (140) have sickle cell disease. Anti-B19 IgG antibodies were detected in 32.1% of patients. No statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) was seen between IgG antibody prevalence in male (27.8%) and female (35.5%) patients. Anti-B19 IgG antibodies were more frequent in older (37.6%) than younger (28.2%) than 20 years old patients, although this difference had no statistical significance (p > 0.05). Anti-B19 IgG antibody prevalence showed that 67.9% of patients enrolled in the study were susceptible to B19 acute infection. With the aim to detect acute B19 infection, patients follow up continued until February 1996. During this period four patients presented transient aplastic crisis due to human parvovirus B19 as confirmed by the detection of specific IgM antibodies. All four patients were younger than 20 years old, and 3 were younger than 10 years old. Three of them were sickle cell disease patients. Three of the four acute B19 infection occurred during 1994 springtime.

Objectives: Parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection is commonly acute and self-limited, but in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients under dialysis treatment, this infection could increase susceptibility to acute and chronic anemia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and risk of B19V infection among Brazilian CKD patients under dialysis. Methods: A study was conducted among 221 CKD patients and a control group of 142 blood donors. B19V infection was evaluated in serum samples by real-time PCR, and ELISA (anti-B19V IgM and IgG). Results: B19V DNA was detected in 65% (145/221) of CKD patients, which was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in the blood donors (6.3%). Simultaneous detection of B19V IgG and viremia was shown in 40.3% of CKD patients, which was indicative of persistent B19V infection. CKD patients showed an increased risk of developing B19V infection (OR = 28.1, CI = 13.5-58.5, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Despite an absence of clinical signs of B19V infection, these data highlight the importance of B19V infection in this high-risk population, since a persistent B19V infection could become clinically significant after renal transplant. Moreover, the persistent viremia should be considered as a potential risk, mainly because of the contamination of dialysis equipment.