Ecology and Infection Dynamics of Multi-Host Amdoparvoviral and Protoparvoviral Carnivore Pathogens

Abstract

Amdoparvovirus and Protoparvovirus are monophyletic viral genera that infect carnivores. We performed surveillance for and sequence analyses of parvoviruses in mustelids in insular British Columbia to investigate parvoviral maintenance and cross-species transmission among wildlife. Overall, 19.1% (49/256) of the tested animals were parvovirus-positive. Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) was more prevalent in mink (41.6%, 32/77) than martens (3.1%, 4/130), feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) was more prevalent in otters (27.3%, 6/22) than mink (5.2%, 4/77) or martens (2.3%, 3/130), and canine parvovirus 2 (CPV-2) was found in one mink, one otter, and zero ermines (N = 27). Viruses were endemic and bottleneck events, founder effects, and genetic drift generated regional lineages. We identified two local closely related AMDV lineages, one CPV-2 lineage, and five FPV lineages. Highly similar viruses were identified in different hosts, demonstrating cross-species transmission. The likelihood for cross-species transmission differed among viruses and some species likely represented dead-end spillover hosts. We suggest that there are principal maintenance hosts (otters for FPV, raccoons for CPV-2/FPV, mink for AMDV) that enable viral persistence and serve as sources for other susceptible species. In this multi-host system, viral and host factors affect viral persistence and distribution, shaping parvoviral ecology and evolution, with implications for insular carnivore conservation.

Genetic Characterization of Feline Parvovirus Isolate Fe–P2 in Korean Cat and Serological Evidence on Its Infection in Wild Leopard Cat and Asian Badger

“…The FPV-positive rate in Canadian otters was almost 30%. Hence, it was suggested that otters might be a principal maintenance host for FPV enabling viral persistence and serving as a source for other susceptible species (18). In this study, the serum from otter had SN titer <20 in the SN test against FPV Fe-P2 strain.…”

“…FPV has been known to infect other species like raccoon dogs, foxes, minks, African wild cats, cheetahs, and honey badgers (5,6). Furthermore, FPV was still frequently found in wild animals like otters, minks, and martens (18,19). The FPV-positive rate in Canadian otters was almost 30%.…”

Mink, SARS-CoV-2, and the Human-Animal Interface

“…The two minks, as in other mustelids, are small carnivores with characteristically elongated bodies. Mustelids contain around 60 known species, including, in addition to mink, otter, ferret, polecat, marten, ermine, badger, sable, and wolverine ( Canuti et al, 2020 ). Several mustelids, including mink, sable, and ermine, have been hunted since prehistoric times for their fur.…”

“…Several microorganisms can affect mustelids ( Canuti et al, 2020 ). The most studied are those commonly found in mink on fur farms.…”

Isolation and Characterization of Seneca Valley Virus Spread from Pig to Mink

“…SVVs have experienced great change in their nucleotide composition over the past ten years and have been identified in different hosts and tumor cells. Mutational pressure from several animal hosts accelerates the frequency of recombinant mutations in SVV (Canuti et al, 2020). Cross-host transmission may have led to a rapid increase in the rate at which mutant stress has an effect.…”