Lifestyle as Risk Factor for Infectious Causes of Death in Young Dogs: A Retrospective Study in Southern Italy (2015–2017)

Abstract

Infectious diseases are a common cause of death in young dogs. Several factors are thought to predispose young dogs to microbiological infections. Identifying the cause of death is often a challenge, and broad diagnostic analysis is often needed. Here, we aimed to determine the infectious causes of death in young dogs aged up to 1 year, examining how it relates to age (under and over 6 months), lifestyle (owned versus ownerless), breed (purebred and crossbreed), and gender. A retrospective study was conducted in a 3-year period (2015–2017) on 138 dead dogs that had undergone necropsy and microbiological diagnostics. Enteritis and pneumonia were the most commonly observed lesions. Polymicrobism was more prevalent (62.3%) than single-agent infections and associated with a higher rate of generalised lesions. Ownerless dogs showed over a three-fold higher predisposition to viral coinfections than owned dogs. Above all, canine parvovirus was the most prevalent agent (77.5%), followed by canine coronavirus (31.1%) and canine adenovirus (23.9%); ownerless pups had a higher predisposition to these viruses. Escherichia coli (23.9%), Clostridium perfringens type A (18.1%), and Enterococcus spp. (8.7%) were the most commonly identified bacteria, which mostly involved in coinfections. A lower prevalence of CDV and Clostridium perfringens type A was observed in puppies under 6 months of age. In conclusion, this study is the first comprehensive survey on a wide panel of microbiological agents related to necropsy lesions. It lays the groundwork for future studies attempting to understand the circulation of infectious agents in a determined area.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) of Bacteria Isolated from Dogs with Canine Parvovirus (CPV) Infection: The Need for a Rational Use of Antibiotics in Companion Animal Health

“…Although in a few dogs (id. 6, 7, 11, 21, 22, 19) co-infections with other viruses (CCoV and CAdV-1) were assessed, the results confirm that CPV infection remained the main cause of viral enteritis and acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS) in young dogs [ 33 , 34 ]. Therefore, a diagnostic panel for the main pathogenic bacteria and multiple viral agents should be considered in dogs with suspected infectious gastrointestinal disease [ 21 , 34 ].…”

“…Despite the fact that vaccination has considerably reduced the occurrence, canine parvovirus infection remains a global threat to domestic and wild carnivores. Until now, studies have been focused on CPV infection and global spread, with limited studies on co-infections with bacteria or other viruses [ 17 , 20 , 33 , 34 ]. In this study, samples collected from dog carcasses with CPV infection were analyzed to evaluate the impact of the bacterial species, their susceptibility to antibiotics, and their multidrug resistance, along with other viral co-infections.…”

Molecular characterization of Cachavirus firstly detected in dogs in China

“…Viral enteritis is a major threat to pet dogs that can lead to life-threating illness. Canine parvovirus (CPV-2), canine distemper virus (CDV), canine coronavirus (CCoV) and canine adenovirus (CAV) are the main pathogens that cause canine viral enteritis ( Cardillo et al, 2020 ; Deng et al, 2018 ). In this study, Cachavirus, belonging to ChPV, was reported for the first time in diarrheic dogs in China; however, statistical analysis showed no association between the presence of the virus and clinical signs ( p > 0.05).…”

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): antimicrobial‐resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in dogs and cats

“…This bacterial species is uncommonly associated with life-threatening infections. An Italian retrospective study investigating infectious causes of death in young dogs did not detect S. pseudintermedius among the most common bacterial species (Cardillo et al, 2020). S. pseudintermedius is usually isolated from skin infections and otitis externa, which are usually mild to moderate, although sporadic cases of rapidly progressive and rare conditions of fatal necrotising fasciitis have been reported in dogs (Weese et al, 2009).…”