Canine parvovirus infections

The canine parvovirus infections are caused by a virus, which belongs to the genus Parvovirus in the family Parvoviridae. This virus is similar to feline panleucopenia virus with minor differences in biological and antigenic properties.

Clinical signs: Diseases caused by these infections range from gastrointestinal disorders to myocarditis and hepatitis in young dogs. A mild or subclinical disease is noticed in adult dogs. The disease was initially reported in Europe but now it has  spread the world over.

Diagnosis: The disease is diagnosed by demonstration of the presence of the causative virus by immunofluorescent test. The simplest test for laboratory diagnosis of CPV is hemagglutination of pig or rhesus monkey RBCs (pH 6.5, 4°C) by virus present in fecal extract. The specificities of this hemagglutination is determined by titrating the fecal specimens in parallel in the presence of normal and immune dog serum.

Prevention and control: The vaccine against feline panleucopenia also protects against canine parvovirus infections. Both killed and attenuated vaccines, specifically against canine parvovirus infection, are now available.