PCR Surveillance of Four Prototypic Rat Parvoviruses in Laboratory Rat Colonies in Taiwan

Abstract

Prototypic rat parvoviruses are among the most common infectious agents in laboratory rats worldwide. It is important to determine the infectious condition of rat parvoviruses in research colonies in Taiwan. In this study, virus species-specific PCR assays were applied to screen Kilham rat virus (KRV), Toolan’s H-1 virus (H-1 virus), rat parvovirus (RPV) and rat minute virus (RMV) in 203 rats from five different research colonies in Taiwan. In this survey, the infection rate of rat parvoviruses was 19.2% (39/203), including KRV (12.3%; 25/203), RMV (8.9%; 18/203) and RPV (1.0%; 2/203). Dual infection of KRV and RMV were detected in 3.0% (6/203) of samples. No rats were positive for H-1 virus. The infectious rates of KRV and RMV detected in this study are much higher than those reported in USA and in Europe. Rat parvovirus PCR assays reported in this paper could be a useful tool for routine rat health monitoring program applied in laboratory rat facilities. [Chang YH, Liao YC, Wang KW, Hsieh SC, Wang MH, Fang BH, Chang CY, Chueh LL, Wan CH, PCR Surveillance of four prototypic rat parvoviruses in laboratory rat colonies in Taiwan, Taiwan Vet J 46(1): 1–7, 2020]