Canine parvoviral disease: experimental reproduction of the enteric form with a parvovirus isolated from a case of myocarditis.

Abstract

Five 7-week-old pups and four 4-week-old pups, all seronegative to canine parvovirus, were inoculated intravenously with 1000 haemagglutinating units of canine parvovirus originally isolated from the myocardium of a dog with naturally occurring myocarditis. After three days, pups in both litters became pyrexic, anorectic and depressed, with vomiting and diarrhoea. The 4-week-old pups were killed on day 4, and the 7-week-old pups died or were killed on day 5 post-inoculation. Histological examination showed degeneration and necrosis of intestinal crypt epithelial cells and villous atrophy. All pups had thymic atrophy caused by lymphoid depletion. Peyer's patches, mesenteric lymph node and spleen also had lymphoid depletion. Lymphoid necrosis was present occasionally in these tissues. In the bone marrow, granulocytes and granulocyte and erythroid precursors were depleted. Amphophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies were abundant in crypt epithelial nuclei, less so in myocardial nuclei. Canine parvovirus was isolated from intestinal contents, thymus, spleen, mesenteric lymph node and liver in most pups, but not from kidney or myocardium.