The prevalence of a group 2 coronavirus in dogs in Japan

Canine coronavirus (CCoV) has been reported to cause acute diarrhea mainly in young pups. CCoV and feline coronavirus are classified as group 1 coronaviruses. However, it has recently been reported in the United Kingdom that the group 2 coronavirus gene, which is more closely related to the bovine coronavirus (BCoV) and human coronavirus strain OC43, has been detected in respiratory tract tissue samples from dogs with respiratory disease. In this study, we examined the prevalence of antibodies to group 2 coronaviruses in domestic dogs and cats in Japan by a neutralization test using BCoV. All 104 feline serum samples were negative (<1:5) for anti-BCoV antibodies. In contrast, of the 898 canine serum samples, 160 (17.8%) were positive for anti-BCoV antibodies, and the antibody titers ranged from 1:5 to more than 1:640, with 1:160 being the most frequent. No correlation was found between the titers of the anti-BCoV and anti-CCoV antibodies in the 198 serum samples of dogs with a known history of CCoV vaccination. We amplified, by RT-PCR, group 2 coronavirus-specific hemagglutination/esterase genes in the oral swabs of a total of 10 young pups presenting with or having recovered from respiratory signs, or having anti-BCoV antibodies, with the result that 2 pups were positive for the hemagglutination/esterase genes. These results strongly suggest that an unknown group 2 coronavirus as well as the known enteritis-causing CCoV (group 1 coronavirus) is prevalent among domestic dogs in Japan.     

Anthelmintic efficacy of thenium closylate-piperazine phosphate combination tablets against Toxocara canis in pups and young dogs

Thenium closylate-piperazine phosphate combination tablets, tablets containing either thenium or piperazine, and control tablets (excipients only) were administered in 2 doses 5 to 7.5 hours apart to weaned pups and young dogs, in critical controlled trials to test efficacy against naturally acquired infections of Toxocara canis. In the 1st trial, the combination tablets produced a mean clearance of 94% from 18 pups. Tablets containing thenium alone showed a mean clearance of 9% from 25 pups, and tablets containing piperazine alone caused a mean clearance of 56% from 16 pups. Clearances, corrected for spontaneous worm losses observed in pups treated with the control tablets, were 90% (combination), 5% (thenium alone), and 52% (piperazine alone). In the 2nd and 3rd trials, efficacy of the combination tablet in 15 pups was 78% when corrected for worm losses in pups which had received placebo (excipient) tablets. Each component in the combination tablet contributed its full single-entity efficacy and, if in combination, synergistic effect between the components.     

Serological prevalence of canine respiratory coronavirus in southern Italy and epidemiological relationship with canine enteric coronavirus.

Canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV) has been detected in dogs suffering from respiratory disease and is thought to be involved in canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD) complex. Canine enteric coronavirus (CECoV) is a widespread pathogen of dogs, responsible for mild to severe diarrhea in pups. The purpose of this study was to establish the seroprevalence of CRCoV in Italy and its relationship to CECoV type II seroprevalence. The age and year of sample collection from seropositive dogs was also assessed. Of adult domestic dogs, 23.3% had antibodies to CRCoV, compared with 86.1% with antibodies to CECoV. Amongst a population of kenneled pups, 4.0% had antibodies to CRCoV, and 97.0% had antibodies to CECoV.     

Efficacy of selamectin administered topically to pregnant and lactating female dogs in the treatment and prevention of adult roundworm (Toxocara canis) infections and flea (Ctenocephalides felis felis) infestations in the dams and their pups

The efficacy of selamectin in the treatment and prevention of naturally acquired Toxocara canis infections and experimentally induced flea (Ctenocephalides felis felis) infestations in dams and their suckling pups was evaluated by administering selamectin to the adult females only, approximately 40 and 10 days before parturition and 10 and 40 days after parturition. Unit doses of the commercial formulation of selamectin were administered to the dams to provide at least the minimum recommended dosage of 6mgkg(-1) (range, 6-12mgkg(-1)). Dams and their pups were housed in carpeted environments able to support the flea life cycle. Flea infestations were established initially by experimental infestation before treatment administration and by repeated re-infestation of dams at approximately weekly intervals throughout the study, which was completed 45 days after parturition. There were no adverse drug experiences related to treatment with selamectin and no treatment-related mortalities. Percentage reductions in geometric mean T. canis faecal egg counts for the selamectin-treated dams, compared with those receiving the negative-control treatment (vehicle only) were 99.7% at the end of the study (P=0.0001). Geometric mean faecal egg counts in pups from selamectin-treated females were reduced by > or =96% on the 24th and 34th days after birth (P=0.0001), and the number of adult worms recovered from the gastrointestinal tract of pups from selamectin-treated dams was reduced by 98.2% (P=0.0001), compared with that for pups from dams treated with the vehicle only. Percentage reductions in geometric mean flea counts for selamectin-treated dams and their pups, compared with vehicle-treated dams and their pups, were > or =99.8% (P=0.0001) and 100% (P=0.0001), respectively, throughout the study. Thus, selamectin administered topically at a minimum unit dosage of 6mgkg(-1) to dams with naturally acquired T. canis infections and experimentally induced C. felis infestations was safe and highly effective in the treatment, control, and prevention of adult T. canis infection and C. felis infestation affecting both the dams and their pups.     

Infections with Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Leptospira interrogans, serovars grippotyphosa and ballum, in a kennel of foxhounds

Leptospira interrogans serovars grippotyphosa and ballum were isolated from kidney and urine of an American Foxhound pup. The pup was from a litter of 12, all of which were unthrifty. Titers for serovar grippotyphosa in pups from the litter ranged from 200 to 6,400 and 23 of 36 adult dogs in the kennel had titers to that serovar. None of the sera was tested for antibodies to serovar ballum. Leptospires were not isolated from or observed in 2 littermates and 1 penmate, but gram-positive organisms morphologically compatible with Encephalitozoon cuniculi were detected in their brains and kidneys.     

The transmission of phocine herpesvirus-1 in rehabilitating and free-ranging Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in California

Phocine herpesvirus-1 (PhHV-1) causes regular outbreaks of disease in neonatal harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) at rehabilitation centers in Europe and in the U.S. To investigate transmission of this virus samples were collected from harbor seal pups during exposure studies at a Californian rehabilitation center from 1999 to 2002 and from free-ranging harbor seals off central California during the same period. The exposure studies provided evidence that PhHV-1 can be transmitted horizontally between animals most likely through direct contact with oro-nasal secretions. However vertical transmission may also occur, as adult female harbor seals were found to be shedding the virus in vaginal and nasal secretions, and premature newborn pups had evidence of early infection. Results also indicated that PhHV-1 infections were common in both free-ranging (40%, 49/121) and rehabilitating (54%, 46/85) young harbor seals, during the spring and early summer. This timing, which correlated with pupping and weaning, suggested that the majority of animals were infected and infective with PhHV-1 between pupping and breeding.     

Shetland Sheepdog leukodystrophy

Three litters of Shetland Sheepdog pups born to the same bitch and 2 different sires were studied because of uncontrollable seizures or progressive neurologic dysfunction. Four pups from the 1st litter, 1 from the 2nd litter, and 4 from the 3rd litter had severe diffuse spongy degeneration of the white matter of the brain and spinal cord. An inherited basis for this syndrome was suspected. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pups with currently available screening tests for the metabolic, biochemical, infectious, and toxicologic causes of leukodystrophy seen in humans and animals. Computed tomography scans revealed diffuse hypomyelination in the affected pup. Complete postmortem examination, including histopathology and electron microscopy, delineated a leukodystrophy resembling human Canavan's disease, but amino acid and organic acid metabolism abnormalities were not detected. No etiology for Shetland Sheepdog leukodystrophy has been found, but this condition represents another familial disease in the purebred dog population.     

Contact rates between wild and domestic canids: no evidence of parvovirus or canine distemper virus in crab-eating foxes

Evaluating the risk of disease spill-over from domestic dogs to wildlife depends on knowledge of inter-specific contact rates and/or exposure to aetiological agents in dog environments. Here, contact rates of crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous) with sympatric domestic dog populations were measured over 25months in Amazon Brazil. Foxes and dogs were serologically and clinically monitored for exposure to canine parvovirus (CPV-2) and canine distemper virus (CDV), pathogens known to have caused wildlife population declines elsewhere. Twenty-two of 24 (92%) tagged foxes visited one or more houses in a median 2 (range 1-3) villages per night where dog densities ranged from 7.2 to 15.4 per km(2) (mean 9.5 per km(2)). Foxes spent an average 6.4% (0-40.3%) of their 10h nocturnal activity period in villages, the equivalent of 38m (range 0-242) per night. The rate of potential exposure to disease agents was thus high, though varied by 3 orders of magnitude for individual foxes. Overall, 46% of the fox population was responsible for 80% of all contacts. None of the 37 monitored foxes however showed serological or clinical evidence of infection with CPV-2 or CDV. Seroprevalences for CPV-2 and CDV antibodies in the local domestic dog population were 13% (3/23) and 9% (2/23), respectively, and 89% of 97 monitored pups born during the study presented clinical signs consistent with active CPV-2 infection (haemorrhagic diarrhoea, vomiting, rapid morbidity and emaciation). Although there was no evidence for infection with either virus in foxes, the high level of contact of foxes with peridomestic habitats suggests that the probability of potential spill-over infections from dogs to foxes is high.     

Current prevalence of adult Uncinaria spp. in northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) and California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pups on San Miguel Island, California, with notes on the biology of these hookworms

A prevalence survey for hookworms (Uncinaria spp.) was done in northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) and California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pups on San Miguel Island, CA, in 2000. Intestines of dead pups were examined for adult hookworms in July. These parasites were found in 95% of 20 fur seal pups and 100% of 31 sea lion pups. The number of hookworms varied from 4 to 2142 (mean = 760) in fur seal pups and from 20 to 2634 (mean = 612) in sea lion pups. A direct relationship was evident between body condition and number of hookworms in the pups; that is, pups in poor condition had fewer hookworms than those in good condition. There was a decline in the number of hookworms in sea lion pups in 2000 compared to collections in 1996. Eggs of Uncinaria spp. were found in rectal feces (collected in late September and early October) of none of 35 (0%) live fur seal pups and 41 of 48 (85%) live sea lion pups. Packed cell volume values, determined for most of the same live pups, were essentially normal for C. ursinus but were much lower than normal for most Z. californianus. Hookworm larvae were not found in blubber of fur seal and sea lion pups or in rookery sand in July. Rookery sand, positive for live hookworm larvae when put in a refrigerator, was negative at removal 2.5 years later. The average number of eggs in utero of female hookworms was 285 for three specimens from a fur seal pup and 281 from three specimens from a sea lion pup. One hookworm larva was recovered from milk stripped from the teats of a stranded Z. californianus female at The Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito, CA.     

Serologic response of maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) to canine and canine parvovirus vaccination distemper virus.

This study evaluated the immune response of 47 (22 males, 25 females) captive maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) to modified-live canine parvovirus and canine distemper virus (Onderstepoort and Rockborn strains) vaccines. Sera were collected from 33 adults and 14 pups, including five free-ranging pups captured at 1 yr of age or younger. All the adults and four captive-born pups had been vaccinated prior to this first blood collection. Virus neutralization and hemagglutination-inhibition assays were performed for quantitating antibodies against canine distemper and canine parvovirus, respectively. Distemper antibody titers > or = 100 were present in 57% of adults and 14% of pups. All adults and 29% of pups had parvovirus antibody titers > or = 80. After vaccination, 72% of the wolves developed antibody titers > or = 100 against distemper and 98% developed titers > or = 80 against parvovirus. Both vaccines used were safe and immunogenic to juvenile and adult maned wolves, regardless of prior vaccination history.     

Experimental infection of dogs with a novel strain of canine coronavirus causing systemic disease and lymphopenia

A pantropic canine coronavirus (CCoV) strain (CB/05) has been recently associated to a fatal outbreak of systemic disease in young dogs. We report the clinical, virological and serological findings in dogs experimentally infected with strain CB/05. The dogs, three 2.5-month-old and two 6-month-old pups, were successfully infected, shedding viral RNA with their faeces for the entire observation period (21 days) and displaying systemic clinical signs resembling those observed during the course of natural infection. Leucopenia (acute lymphopenia) occurred in all infected dogs, with values dropping below 60% of the initial counts. Considering the severity of the CB/05-induced disease, two of the youngest pups were euthanized for ethical reasons at days 8-9 postinfection, whereas the other pups underwent a slow but progressive improvement of their clinical status with complete recovery. At postmortem examination, remarkable lesions were observed in the internal organs of the euthanized pups, that tested positive for CCoV by real-time RT-PCR and virus isolation on cell cultures. All pups seroconverted for CCoV, as shown by the high optical density values and antibody titres detected by ELISA and virusneutralisation tests, respectively. The present study confirms that strain CB/05 is highly pathogenic for dogs, being able to induce a severe disease (and in some cases the death) even in experimental conditions.     

Immunization of Pups with Maternally Derived Antibodies to Canine Parvovirus (CPV) Using a Modified‐Live Variant(CPV‐2b)

The results of vaccination trials carried out on pups with maternally derived antibodies (MDA) to canine parvovirus (CPV), using a modified‐live CPV‐2b variant vaccine (29‐97/40 strain), are reported. The vaccine was able to overcome the obstacle of MDA, and to elicit protective immunity in 100% of the pups whose antibody titres were 1:10–1:40, 83% of the pups with titres of 1:80, 57% of the pups with titres of 1:160, and even in 60% of the pups with antibody titres of 1:320.     

Immunization of pups with maternally derived antibodies to canine parvovirus (CPV) using a modified-live variant (CPV-2b)

The results of vaccination trials carried out on pups with maternally derived antibodies (MDA) to canine parvovirus (CPV), using a modified-live CPV-2b variant vaccine (29-97/40 strain), are reported. The vaccine was able to overcome the obstacle of MDA, and to elicit protective immunity in 100% of the pups whose antibody titres were 1:10-1:40, 83% of the pups with titres of 1:80, 57% of the pups with titres of 1:160, and even in 60% of the pups with antibody titres of 1:320.     

An epizootic of peroneal and tibial neuropathy in Walker Hound pups

Early in life, Walker Hound pups from several litters, later determined to have peroneal and tibial neuropathy, had been given supplements of either evaporated milk and corn syrup mixed with well water or powdered bitch milk formula mixed with well water. Other pups not given supplements were not affected. Pelvic limb monoparesis, areflexia, analgesia, and muscular atrophy developed by 2 weeks of age. Abnormalities detected by light and electron microscopy included scattered swollen axons containing increased organelles and whorled neurofilaments. The clear association between clinical signs of disease and dietary supplementation of pups among healthy dogs in a kennel, as well as lack of an obvious pattern of inheritance, suggested an environmentally acquired toxin, specifically the well water. Attempts to reproduce neuropathy in a litter of Beagle pups 2 years after initial evaluation of the disease syndrome were unsuccessful. Atomic absorption studies performed on the well water to detect heavy metals did not reveal toxic concentrations. Toxins that may have been responsible for the neuropathy in these pups were not identified.     

Babesiosis in a litter of pups

Babesia canis infection was diagnosed in a litter of seven 3-week-old Mastiff pups kept in a north Florida kennel. The pups were evaluated because of poor weight gain; the smallest pup also was markedly lethargic. Six of the pups were anemic and thrombocytopenic. A positive linear correlation between PCV and absolute reticulocyte count suggested that the variation in PCV may have been related more to the ability of a pup to increase erythrocyte production than to a difference in magnitude of erythrocyte destruction. All pups recovered from clinical signs and hematologic abnormalities attributable to babesiosis within 2.5 weeks after treatment with diminazene aceturate. Transient neurologic signs observed in 1 pup 3 days after treatment were believed to represent an adverse drug reaction. The dam of the litter had a serum titer of 1:640 for B canis, but appeared healthy, as did approximately 30 other adult dog in the kennel. The strain of B canis infecting dogs in the kennel caused severe illness and death in some pups, but clinically inapparent disease in adult dogs.     

Effects of intramuscular administration of glycosaminoglycan polysulfates on signs of incipient hip dysplasia in growing pups.

We tested the hypothesis that treatment of growing, susceptible (to hip dysplasia) pups by IM administration of glycosaminoglycan polysulfates would mitigate the signs of incipient hip dysplasia. In 1 experiment, 7 pups, selected at random from 2 litters, were administered glycosaminoglycan polysulfates (2.5 mg/kg of body weight, IM) twice weekly, and 7 control pups from the same litters were given sterile buffered 0.9% saline solution from the age of 6 weeks to 8 months. Hip joints were examined by radiography, with pups in the standard, limbs-extended position. At 8 months of age, all pups in this experiment did not manifest femoral head subluxation radiographically. The Norberg angle, a measure of coxofemoral congruity, improved from a mean +/- SEM value of 102 degrees +/- 1 degrees in controls to 106 degrees +/- 1 degrees in treated pups (P = 0.008). Pups were not subjected to necropsy. In the second experiment, 8 pups were selected at random from 2 litters and were administered 5 mg of glycosaminoglycan polysulfates/kg, IM, twice weekly from 6 weeks to 8 months of age. Similarly, 8 control pups were administered saline solution. At 8 months of age, hip joints were examined by radiography with pups in the standard position; at necropsy, intra-articular tissues were evaluated macroscopically and biochemically. Of 8 treated pups, none had subluxation radiographically, whereas 4 of 8 control dogs had femoral head subluxation. Mean Norberg angle on the radiographs was 109.7 degrees +/- 1.6 degrees for the treated group and was 101.5 degrees +/- 1.6 degrees for controls, representing a mean improvement in coxofemoral congruity of 8.2 degrees in the treated pups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Aspects of the diagnosis, pathogenesis and epidemiology of canine parvovirus

Between 18 July 1980 and 2 January 1981, 188 samples (145 faeces and 43 intestinal contents) were submitted from dogs with suspected canine parvovirus (CPV) enteritis. CPV was demonstrated in 56 (30%) of these samples; the weekly rate of positive CPV identification was remarkably constant at approximately 30% even though clinical and often post-mortem findings strongly supported a diagnosis of CPV enteritis. The simplest, most sensitive and most rapid method for detection of virus was haemagglutination (HA) which was twice as sensitive as isolation of virus and 8 times as sensitive as electron microscopy (EM). Forty nine of 56 (88%) samples positive for CPV were from dogs less than 1 year old and 44 (79%) CPV-positive samples were from pups less than 6 months old; only one sample from a pup less than 2 months old (pup was 7 weeks old) was positive. An additional 68 samples (53 faeces and 15 intestinal contents) were submitted from Beagle dogs that were part of a colony of approximately 1200 dogs. Epidemiological data pinpoints the entry of CPV into the colony in November 1978 at which time most dogs including pups less than 6 months of age developed antibody to CPV without developing clinical disease. From these data an overview of some aspects of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of CPV is constructed.     

Humoral immune responses to phocine herpesvirus-1 in Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardsii) during an outbreak of clinical disease

Infection with phocine herpesvirus type-1 (PHV-1) has been associated with morbidity and high mortality in neonatal harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). A PHV-1 specific indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to sequentially measure the serological status of 106 harbor seal neonates admitted to a Pacific coast rehabilitation center (total number of sera tested was 371). Early in the season (February-April), the majority of pups had low serum levels of PHV-1 specific antibody. A dramatic increase in PHV-1 specific antibody, involving the majority of hospitalized pups, was observed during a 4-week period in May. This coincided with a high incidence of PHV-1 associated adrenal lesions and mortality. Although there was overall agreement between the timing of seroconversion to PHV-1 and histological evidence of PHV-1 infection, 82.4% of individual pups with adrenalitis had no evidence of a humoral response to PHV-1 at the time of their death. This suggests either a rapid disease course, or an inability to develop a humoral response in some neonatal seals.     

Influence of maternal dietary fat upon rat pups.

Mother rats were fed purified rations containing different fats during gestation and lactation and at 1 day after parturition. Litter sizes were reduced to 2 male and 2 female pups. The behavior and the brain chemical composition of these selected pups were compared with similarly selected pups from dams fed a commercial ration. All offspring were fed a commercial ration after weaning. Pups from dams fed 20% safflower oil were similar to controls. Feeding 20% cocoa butter to dams resulted in pups with reduced exploratory activity and with a rapid learning performance in a T-maze, employing the aversive stimulation of an electrical shock. Feeding dams a fat-free ration produced pups which had reduced rates of growth, small brains at 2 months of age, and low brain concentrations of cholesterol, DNA, and RNA.     

Natural causes of death in non-suckling grey seals (Halichoerus grypus)

Thirty-four grey seals which died of natural causes were examined. They ranged in age from aborted fetuses to adults, but suckling pups were excluded from the study. The commonest primary cause of death was pneumonia and a variety of parasitoses occurred as secondary lesions.