Influenza A viruses circulating in dogs - a review of the scientific literature

Abstract

Influenza A viruses (IAV) cause persistent epidemics and occasional human pandemics, leading to considerable economic losses. The ecology and epidemiology of IAV are very complex and the emergence of novel zoonotic pathogens is one of the greatest challenges in the healthcare. IAV are characterized by genetic and antigenic variability resulting from a combination of high mutation rates and a segmented genome that provides the ability to rapidly change and adapt to new hosts. In this context, available scientific evidence is of great importance for understanding the epidemiology and evolution of influenza viruses. The present review summarizes original research papers and IAV infections reported in dogs all over the world. Reports of interspecies transmission of equine influenza viruses (EIV) H3N2 from birds to dogs, as well as double and triple reassortant strains resulting from reassortment of avian, human and canine strains have amplified the genetic variety of canine influenza viruses. A total of 146 articles were deemed acceptable by PubMed and the Google Scholar database and were therefore included in this review. The largest number of research articles (n=68) were published in Asia, followed by the Americas (n=44), Europe (n=31), Africa (n=2) and Australia (n=1). Publications are conventionally divided into three categories. The first category (largest group) included modern articles published from 2011 to the present (n=93). The second group consisted of publications from 2000 to 2010 (n=46). Single papers of 1919, 1931, 1963, 1972, 1975, and 1992 were also used, which was necessary to emphasize the history of the study of the ecology and evolution of the IAV circulating among various mammalian species. The largest number of publications occurred in 2010 (n=18) and 2015 (n=11), which is associated with IAV outbreaks observed at that time in the dog population in America, Europe and Asia. In general, these findings raise concerns that dogs, may mediate the adaptation of IAVs to zoonotic transmission and therefore serve as alternative hosts for genetic reassortment of these viruses. The global concern and significant threat to public health from the present COVID-19 pandemic confirms the necessity for active surveillance of zoonotic viral diseases with pandemic potential.

Influenza A virus antibodies in dogs, hunting dogs, and backyard pigs in Campeche, Mexico

“…However, dog-associated IAVs are an imminent threat of risk in IAV transmission that should not be neglected because of all the ecological and epidemiological characteristics associated with dogs that may give rise to epidemic or pandemic viral variants. These characteristics are not only associated with dogs living in backyard production systems but also extend to companion dogs that maintain close contact with other companion species and humans in cities or peri-urban areas, as well as stray dogs, as demonstrated in numerous studies that determine the participation of dogs in IAV exposure and transmission (Borland et al, 2020;Jimenez-Bluhm et al, 2021;Klivleyeva et al, 2022;Kovalenko et al, 2021;Kwasnik et al, 2020;Ramírez-Martínez et al, 2013;Song et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2019;Zhao et al, 2020).…”

“…The study of the role of dogs in the ecology of IAV is an opportunity for future research. It has been approximately two decades since the discovery that dogs are suitable hosts for IAV, and since then, in the last 10 years, research on the involvement of dogs in the transmission of these viruses has increased (Borland et al, 2020;Klivleyeva et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2019). However, in Mexico, there…”

“…Subsequently, in 2008, the H3N2 subtype from avian origin was isolated (Song et al., 2012). Since then, reports regarding the circulation of these subtypes in canine populations have emerged in different countries (Borland et al., 2020; Klivleyeva et al., 2022). There is likewise serological evidence of dogs' exposure to the human H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes, as well as the isolation and identification of a virus like the 2009 pandemic H1N1 (Damiani et al., 2012; Dundon et al., 2010; Jurado‐Tarifa et al., 2020; Tangwangvivat et al., 2019).…”

Re-emergence of canine influenza in the United States of America; a call for One Health approach; a letter to the editor

“…The heterogeneity of zoonotic canine influenza viruses (CIVs) through genetic reassortment as well as the point mutations typical of RNA viruses and their capacity to cross the species barrier continuously, has always been One Health concern [1] . This necessitates ongoing animal and human population monitoring [1,2] in the human and animal world.…”

“…The heterogeneity of zoonotic canine influenza viruses (CIVs) through genetic reassortment as well as the point mutations typical of RNA viruses and their capacity to cross the species barrier continuously, has always been One Health concern [1] . This necessitates ongoing animal and human population monitoring [1,2] in the human and animal world. Despite a decrease in the prevalence of CIV in the United States of America over the last 5 years, there was a re-emergence in the early periods of February 2023 where it caused serious outbreaks of respiratory illness in dogs in Philadelphia, North Texas, California, and Florida regions of the country [3] .…”