Fatal outbreaks in dogs associated with pantropic canine coronavirus in France and Belgium

We report the genetic and biological characterisation of a novel pantropic canine coronavirus (CCoV), strain 450/07, which caused the death of a 60-day-old miniature pinscher. At the genetic level, this virus was strictly related to the prototype strain CB/05, but displayed some unique features. After experimental infection with the new pantropic isolate, most inoculated dogs showed diarrhoea and acute lymphopenia. Gross lesions and histological changes were mainly evident in the gut and lymphoid tissues, although some animals showed remarkable changed also in parenchymatous organs. The viral RNA was detected in the faeces and/or internal organs of most pups. These findings seem to indicate that strain 450/07 is able to spread to internal organs (mainly lymphoid tissues), causing lymphopenia but inducing a mild disease.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

A pantropic canine coronavirus genetically related to the prototype isolate CB/05

Decaro¹,

Mari²,

Reitzenstein

et al. 2012

“…As for CCoV, there is no agreement in the scientific community about the pathogenetic potential of this virus Gizzi et al, 2014;Schulz et al, 2008). Several studies have demonstrated the presence of CCoV in the faeces of dogs with diarrhoea in different countries, usually related to mild, self-limiting gastroenteritis (Decaro et al, 2005bStavisky et al, 2012;Cavalli et al, 2014;Costa et al, 2014;Licitra et al, 2014), although occasional detection of a hyper-virulent CCoV variant, referred to as pantropic CCoV, has been reported in severe, often fatal outbreaks Decaro et al, 2013;Ntafis et al, 2012;Zicola et al, 2012;Pinto et al, 2014). The role of CCoV as enteropathogen has been recently reconsidered by Duijvestijn et al (2016) that reported a strong association between diarrhoea and CCoV infection (p = 0.001) and results from our study also support this relation (p < 0.0001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A molecular survey for selected viral enteropathogens revealed a limited role of Canine circovirus in the development of canine acute gastroenteritis

Dowgier

Lorusso

Decaro

et al. 2017

Canine circovirus (CanineCV) is a canine virus, whose pathogenetic role is still uncertain. Based on recent data suggesting its role as entheropathogen, a case-control study was conducted between 2013 and 2016 to investigate the association of CanineCV with gastroenteritis in dogs, alone or in combination with other viral pathogens, including canine parvovirus (CPV), canine coronavirus (CCoV) and canine distemper virus (CDV). A total of 219 dogs suffering from acute gastroenteritis disorders and 67 controls randomly recruited among healthy dogs or patients presenting without enteric signs were screened by a panel of real-time (RT-)PCR assays for CanineCV, CPV, CCoV and CDV. A high prevalence of viral infections was detected in dogs with gastroenteritis (77.16%), with CPV representing the most frequently detected enteropathogen, followed by CanineCV and CCoV. While CPV and CCoV infections displayed a strong association with occurrence of acute gastroenteritis (p<0.00001), detection of CanineCV in control dogs (28.35%) occurred with prevalence comparable to that of clinical cases (32.42%), so that its correlation with gastrointestinal disease was not statistically supported (p=0.530988). Different from the clinical cases, where co-infections were frequently observed, all positive samples from the control group contained single infections. Noteworthy, a significant association was calculated between co-infections with CanineCV and occurrence of acute gastroenteritis (p<0.00001). This study supports the role of CanineCV as a co-pathogen in the development of gastrointestinal disease, mainly acting in synergism with other enteric viruses.

“…Puppies that were co-infected with CCoV and CPV showed severe clinical signs, which was in concordance with previous reports of frequently occurring co-infections with these pathogens (Decaro et al, 2011;Castro et al, 2013). CPV and CCoV synergize in their pathogenicity by interacting at the gut wall level (Zicola et al, 2012). Also CPV induces suppression of the immune system which facilitates superinfection with other pathogens (Castro et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enteropathogen infections in canine puppies: (Co-)occurrence, clinical relevance and risk factors

Duijvestijn

Mughini‐Gras

Schuurman

et al. 2016

Laboratory confirmation of the causative agent(s) of diarrhoea in puppies may allow for appropriate treatment. The presence of potential pathogens however, does not prove a causal relationship with diarrhoea. The aim of this study was to identify specific enteropathogens in ≤12 month old puppies with and without acute diarrhoea and to assess their associations with clinical signs, putative risk factors and pathogen co-occurrence. Faecal samples from puppies with (n=113) and without (n=56) acute diarrhoea were collected and screened for Canine Parvovirus (CPV), Canine Coronavirus (CCoV), Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium difficile, β-hemolytic Eschericha coli (hEC), Giardia spp., Toxocara spp., Cystoisospora spp., and Cyniclomyces guttulatus. One or more pathogens were detected in 86.5% of diarrhoeic puppies and in 77.8% of asymptomatic puppies. Significant positive associations were found between CPV and CCoV, CPV and Cystoisospora spp., Toxocara spp. and hEC, Giardia spp. and C. guttulatus. Only CPV and CCoV were significantly associated with diarrhoea, hEC with a subset of puppies that had diarrhoea and severe clinical signs. CPV was more prevalent in puppies under 3 months of age. Puppies from high-volume dog breeders were significantly at increased risk for CPV (OR 4.20), CCoV (OR 4.50) and Cystoisospora spp. (OR 3.60). CCoV occurred significantly more often in winter (OR 3.35), and CPV in winter (OR 3.78) and spring (OR 4.72) as compared to summer. We conclude that routine screening for CPV, CCoV and hEC is recommended in puppies with acute diarrhoea, especially if they are under 3 months of age and originate from high-volume dog breeders. Routine screening for other pathogens may lead to less conclusive results.