Epizootiologic Investigations of Parvovirus Infections in Free-ranging Carnivores from Germany

Abstract

To assess if wild carnivores in Germany play a role in the epizootiology of canine parvovirus (CPV) infection, seroprevalences against CPV in free-ranging carnivores (n=1,496) from selected urban and rural areas were compared. Antibodies against CPV were found in sera from red foxes (Vulpes vulpes; 136 of 1,442; 9%), raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonides; two of 33; 6%), stone martens (Martes foina; four of 13; 31%), and pine martens (Martes martes; one of two) using the hemagglutination-inhibition test and pig erythrocytes. Evidence of CPV infection was detected in all study areas. Antibody titers varied between 10 and 320. In red foxes, the number of reactors did not differ between most urban and rural areas. However, we found significantly more reactors in the most densely populated urban area (Berlin). None of 430 tissue samples (small intestine, spleen, mesenterial lymph nodes) from any species tested for the presence of CPV nucleic acid using polymerase chain reaction yielded an amplification product. Based on our results, we believe that contact between domestic dogs and free-ranging red foxes probably plays a subordinate role in the epizootiology of CPV in Germany.

Unveiling patterns of viral pathogen infection in free-ranging carnivores of northern Portugal using a complementary methodological approach

“…In foxes, for example, CPV DNA was detected in almost 79 % of the tissue samples, not far from 83.3 % obtained in our study and within the confidence interval. Contrastingly, other European studies described a much lower prevalence, ranging from 3.5-15.2% in wolf scats in Italy [11,12], or 12.1 % obtained in France [11,20], and even a total lack of viral DNA detection in tissue samples from several species (Germany [6].…”

“…Viruses are important pathogens of wild carnivores that can affect populations through increased mortality and/or decreased general health [3]. Canine parvovirus (CPV) and canine distemper virus (CDV) are known pathogens of domestic and wild carnivores worldwide [4][5][6][7][8]. Although CPV infection is a relatively new disease first reported in the late 1970s in domestic dogs [5], the virus has spread rapidly [7,9].…”

Comparative survey of canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus and canine enteric coronavirus infection in free-ranging wolves of central Italy and south-eastern France

“…Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) and canine distemper virus (CDV) are well-known pathogens of canids and are reported to occur in several free-ranging wolf populations in Europe and around the world (Kreeger 2003;Zarnke et al 2004;Frölich et al 2005;Sobrino et al 2008;Almberg et al 2009;Santos et al 2009;Di Sabatino et al 2014). Infection by Alphacoronaviruses (ACVs) is poorly documented in freeranging canid populations.…”

Frequent Cross-Species Transmission of Parvoviruses among Diverse Carnivore Hosts

“…A variety of host species other than domestic cats and dogs harbor closely related parvoviruses, and it has become increasingly apparent that nondomestic animals are commonly infected, even though little disease is observed in many cases (8)(9)(10)(11)(12). However, those parvoviruses previously detected in a variety of other species, including many different large cats, raccoons, raccoon dogs, arctic foxes, and mink, often represent opportunistic samples obtained from animals in artificial settings such as zoos or fur farms (13)(14)(15), with the majority of these viruses falling into a single FPV-like clade distinct from CPV in dogs (4,16).…”