Canine Parvovirus Infection in Dogs: Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors in Egypt

Abstract

Canine parvovirus (CPV) infection is a global infectious and contagious viral disease of canine, especially in dogs infected by three variants of CPV type. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and potential risk factors of parvovirus infection in dogs residing in Egypt. A total of 122 dogs suffering from vomiting and diarrhea were screened by antigen rapid CPV/Canine Coronavirus Ag test kit for the diagnosis of CPV infection from March 2012 to February 2013. Age, breed, season, and vaccination of each dog were recorded to study the prevalence of CPV. The overall prevalence of CPV infection in dogs was reported as 59.7%. Dogs between 0 and 3 months of age indicated the highest prevalence of 68% followed by 4-6 months of age which was 53.3%. The lowest prevalence of CPV was reported in dogs above 6 months of age (20%). The maximum prevalence was noticed in non-descript dogs (48.5%) followed by German shepherds (26.7%), Doberman (23.07%), and Griffon (16.6%). Among different risk factors, young, unvaccinated puppies and exotic breeds were more prone to CPV infection. Regarding the season, the higher prevalence was noticed in summer (77.1%) followed by spring (55.5%), autumn (25%), and winter (16.6%). Thus, CPV is an infectious and highly contagious viral disease of dogs. Age and seasonal variations are risk factors in the prevalence of CPV infection. Identification of the potential risk factors associated with the disease may be helpful to construct the ideal preventive measures.

Epidemiology of canine parvovirus infection in and around Pantnagar, Uttarakhand: A retrospective study

“…The variation in the prevalence of CPV might be attributed to varied diagnostic tests, wide variation in the number of samples, differences in study period, geographical area variations; thus, comparison in this regard would be less beneficial (Khare et al, 2019) [13] . Breed wise, prevalence of CPV infection were found to be maximum in mongrels i.e., 51.16% (132/258), which is in accordance with findings by Behera et al, (2015) [6] and Sayed-Ahmed et al, (2021) [27] who reported 34.48% and 48.5% respectively which might be due to higher density of mongrels in the study area, they are inherently of wandering nature; close proximity to each other increases the chances of infection spread; due to lack of awareness and responsibility, vaccination schedules are not rightly followed by mongrel dog owners thus pre-disposing them to the disease (Behera et al, 2015) [6] (Table 2) (Figure 2). As of exotic breeds, Labrador retriever showed the highest prevalence rate (9.68%), followed by German Shepherd (8.53%) and Rottweiler (8.14%) respectively which is concurrent with findings of Behera et al, (2015) [6] (Table2) (Figure2).…”

“…Also, after 3 months of age, a decline in maternal antibody titres predisposes the age group of 3-6 months to CPV infection and increases susceptibility to infection in endemic areas due to lack of protective titres (O'Brien, 1994; Deka et al, 2013) [21,7] . Sex wise prevalence of CPV infection was found to be more in males (63.57%) compared to females (34.43%) which are supported by the findings of Sagare et al, (2022) [25] ; Singh et al, (2021) [34] and Sayed-Ahmed et al, (2021) [27] respectively (Table 2) (Figure 4). In contrast, Banja et al, (2002) [3] and Sanjukta et al, (2011) [26] in respective studies reported that no significant difference was observed among sexes of dogs with CPV infection as there was no influence of sex on the incidence of CPV infection.…”

“…Qi et al, (2020) [23] stated that higher prevalence during winter and early spring might me due to significant seasonal diurnal temperature differences and changeable climates during these seasons. In contrast, Sayed-Ahmed et al, (2021) [27] reported that regarding season, higher prevalence was noticed in summer (77.1%) followed by spring (55.5%), autumn (25%) and winter (16.6%). Kalli et al, (2010) [12] stated that seasonal prevalence of the disease is subject to considerable variations in wide geographical areas and depending on seasonal variation, the occurrence of CPV-2 is believed to be a yearround phenomenon.…”

“…Survival rates depend on how quickly CPV-2 is diagnosed, the age of the animal and introduction of aggressive therapy (Mylonakis et al, 2016) [19] . Vaccination of dogs with attenuated or modified live vaccines is used to prevent the disease (Sayed-Ahmed et al, 2021) [27] . In order to estimate the prevalence and potential risk factors of parvovirus infection in and around Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, a retrospective study was conducted.…”

Clinical abnormalities and haemato biochemical alterations in dogs affected with parvovirus infection

“…The clinical findings encountered matches well with the findings of [7,10,12] who found presence of anorexia, vomition, bloody diarrhoea, moderate to severe dehydration, restlessness among the dogs affected with parvovirus infection. Various clinical findings in dogs affected with parvovirus shows changes in their frequency of appearance depending on the level of damage the virus causes within the body.…”