Molecular, pathological and hematobiochemical detection of canine parvovirus in dogs

Abstract

: C anine parvovirus (CPV) infection is considered a common cause of puppies mortality less than 6 months. Despite treatment with available therapies, many dogs still died from CPV related complications. This study aims to describe the clinical investigation, pathological findings, and molecular diagnosis of canine parvovirus infection in dogs. A total of thirty five samples, including blood and fecal samples were collected from dogs of different ages and breeds (German shepherd, Husky, Loloo, and Rottweiler puppies) to be used in this study. The study considered the dogs' history, clinical examination for vital parameters, alter-ation of haemogram, and fecal examination for detection of canine parvovirus antigen. 10 rectal swabs collected from dogs showing clinical signs of canine parvovirus enteritis were initially tested for CPV-2 using CPV Ag test kits rapid test. Results showed 9/10 of swabs were positive for CPV-2. For further in-vestigations, all swabs were carried out using molecular identification, through the extraction of Viral DNA and conventional PCR for the CPV-2, all samples gave positive results for CPV-2. Histopathological examination of the tongue, lung, kidney and intestine suggested the infection with CPV enteritis. leukopenia, neutropenia, lymphopenia, and thrombocytopenia with a significant increase in monocytic and eosinophilic count were recorded. A significant increase in serum total protein and serum globulin and a significant decrease in serum albumin were noticed. Serum ALT, AST, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine were significantly increased. Samples that showed strong PCR products were sequenced and phylogenetic analyzed to detect the percentage of nucleotide sequence identity and divergence between CPV of this study and other reference strains. PCR and the sequence analysis confirmed canine parvovirus-2a as the etiology of the disease. Good management is advised to avoid secondary or severe dehydration and marked gastrointestinal fluid hypovolemia with loss of protein and bacterial sepsis.