Canine parvovirus detected from a serval (Leptailurus serval) in South Africa

Abstract

Canine parvovirus first emerged in domestic dogs ( Canis familiaris ), most likely as a variant of the feline panleucopaenia virus. Relatively recently, canine parvovirus-2a and canine parvovirus-2b infections have been identified in both symptomatic and asymptomatic domestic cats, while canine parvovirus infections have also been demonstrated in wild felids. This report documents the first known case of canine parvovirus-2b detected in unvaccinated serval ( Leptailurus serval ) from South Africa. The serval presented with clinical signs of vomiting, anorexia and diarrhoea that responded to symptomatic treatment. Two weeks later, severe leucopaenia, thrombocytopenia and death occurred. Typical enteric histological lesions of parvovirus infection were not observed on histopathological examination of the small intestine; however, histological lesions consistent with septicaemia were present. Canine parvovirus was detected in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded small intestine using polymerase chain reaction. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequence of the canine parvovirus viral capsid protein gene showed similarities between the sample from the serval and canine parvovirus-2b isolates from domestic dogs in Argentina and South Africa. A case of canine parvovirus-2b in a domestic dog from South Africa in 2012 that fell within the same clade as the serval sample appears distantly related because of the long branch length. The significance of these findings is explored. More extensive surveys of canine parvovirus in domestic and wild felids and canids are needed to understand the epidemiology of canine parvovirus in non-domestic felids in South Africa.

Fatal canine parvovirus‐2 (CPV‐2) infection in a rescued free‐ranging Taiwanese pangolin ( Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla )

“…The clinical signs, gross lesions and histopathological findings in this case were similar to those in protoparvovirus infection described in other species (Oosthuizen et al, ; Stilwell, Anis, Wilkes, & Rissi, ; Xinyu et al, ). Although vesicular lesions are not commonly caused by protoparvoviruses, previous studies have demonstrated that protoparvovirus can infect keratinocytes and induce vesicular lesions on skin and tongue in pigs as well as skin and oral cavity in dogs (Favrot, Olivry, Dunston, Degorce‐Rubiales, & Guy, ; Woldemeskel, Liggett, Ilha, Saliki, & Johnson, ).…”

Domestic dog origin of Carnivore Protoparvovirus 1 infection in a rescued free‐ranging guiña ( Leopardus guigna) in Chile

“…In addition, abnormalities were not detected in the heart. These characteristics of the infected tissues collected in this case were similar to those found in protoparvovirus infections in other species (Allison et al., 2013, 2014; Bucafusco et al., 2019; Oosthuizen et al., 2019; Viscardi et al., 2019; Wang et al, 2020).…”

“…FPV or FPV‐like infections in wild felids have been reported in Puma concolor (Allison et al., 2014), Panthera tigris (Duarte et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2019) Panthera leo, Acinonyx jubatus, Felis lybicia (Calatayud et al., 2019; Steinel, Munson, van Vuuren, & Truyen, 2000), Genetta genetta (Calatayud et al., 2019) and Prionodon linsang (Inthong et al., 2019). Regarding CPV‐2 infections in wild felids, it have been reported in Felis bengalensis (Nakamura et al., 2001), Acinonyx jubatus , Panthera tigris (Steinel et al., 2000), Puma concolor , Lynx rufus (Allison et al., 2013, 2014) and Leptailurus serval (Oosthuizen et al., 2019). All of them showed high identity with circulating strains from domestic dogs.…”

“…Only a few studies compare sequences between sympatric domestic dogs and wild species (Chen et al., 2019; Oosthuizen et al., 2019; López‐Pérez et al, 2019). Most reports compare them only with sequences available in GenBank (Allison et al., 2013, 2014; Nakamura et al., 2001; Steinel et al., 2000).…”

Co‐circulation of five species of dog parvoviruses and canine adenovirus type 1 among gray wolves (Canis lupus) in northern Canada

“…Evidence for infection by all investigated dog viruses was found. While CPV‐2 has been found in wild animals all around the planet (Allison et al., 2014; Canuti, Todd et al., 2020; Miranda & Thompson, 2016; Oosthuizen et al., 2019; Steinel et al., 2000; Wang, Tu et al., 2020), and there are reports of CAdV‐1 in wild canids (Balboni et al., 2021; Brandell et al., 2021; Dowgier et al., 2018; Millán et al., 2016; Pizzurro et al., 2017; Walker et al., 2016) and of CBuV‐1 in wolves (Melegari et al., 2019), to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of MVC, CBoV‐2 and CachaV‐1 in wildlife. Furthermore, our data indicate that CBuV and CachaV‐1 were already circulating among wild animals (i.e., wolves) at least 11 and 10 years before their discoveries, respectively.…”