Seroprevalence of Canine Herpesvirus‐1 in the Belgian Dog Population in 2000

Canine herpesvirus‐1 (CHV‐1) is known to be associated with fertility and fecundity disorders as well as neonatal mortality in puppies of less than 3 weeks of age. The virus is presumed to be enzootic in dogs all over the world and recent studies in several European countries suggest a high seroprevalence among the dog population. In the year 2000, a total of 647 Belgian canine sera from 102 privately owned patients and 545 breeding dogs were analysed with an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore 77 of the samples were submitted to two serum neutralization (SN) tests for comparison. An overall CHV‐1 seroprevalence of 45.75% was observed in the Belgian dog population. No significant differences could be observed based on breeding status, reason for consultation or sex. The correlation between the ELISA and both SN tests appeared to be moderate with a significantly greater sensitivity of the ELISA. This study also demonstrated that the CHV‐1 seroprevalence in the Belgian dog population is similar to that in other recently investigated European countries and that the incidence in breeding units is not necessarily higher than in non‐breeding dogs.