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Since its emergence, canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) has caused disease pandemics with severe gastroenteritis signs, infecting especially puppies. As a consequence of CPV rapid evolution a variety of genetic and antigenic variants have been reported circulating worldwide. The detection of additional variants of CPV circulating in the dog population in Portugal suggests monitoring of the disease is useful. The objectives of this study were to further detect and characterize circulating field variants from suspected CPV diseased dogs that were admitted to veterinary clinics distributed throughout the country, during 2012–2014. Of the 260 fecal samples collected, 198 were CPV positive by PCR, and CPV antigen was detected in 61/109 samples by Immunochromatographic (IC) test. The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of 167 samples revealed that 86 were the CPV-2c. Sequence analysis of the 198 strains confirmed that CPV-2c were the dominant variant (51.5%), followed by CPV-2b (47.5%) and CPV-2a (1%). The variants were irregularly distributed throughout the country and some were detected with additional non-synonymous mutations in the VP2 gene. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the isolates were similar to other European strains, and that this virus continues to evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is the most important enteric virus infecting canids worldwide. The purpose of this study was to detect CPV in naturally infected dogs from several veterinary clinics distributed throughout Portugal between 2012 and 2014 and to identify risk factors associated with CPV infection. From 209 dogs suspected of being infected with CPV, historical data and clinical signs were collected. Fecal samples were screened for CPV by PCR assay and those positive were confirmed by sequencing. The data was analyzed using logistic regression to investigate associations between each of the predisposing factors and CPV status. Of the samples collected, 77.5% tested CPV-positive. Statistical analysis showed that animals in the three age categories ( p < 0.001) were at list 12 times more likely to be CPV-positive than older animals. The anthelminthic treatment [OR = 0.45, p = 0.04] and the rectal temperature (hypothermia, [OR = 0.12, p = 0.004]) contributed to decrease the likelihood of the dogs be infected with CPV. On the other hand, clinical signs such as depression [OR = 4.4, p = 0.02] and dehydration status [OR = 2.38, p = 0.001] made dogs more likely to be CPV-infected. The results indicate that although having a high morbidity, only 18% of the Portuguese dog population died in the study. Some of the risk factors identified in this study have not been commonly reported, yet they are easy to obtain and can be used as prognostic indicators in the veterinary practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]