Abstract
The impact of carnivore parvovirus infection on wild populations is not yet understood; disease signs are mainly developed in pups and assessing the health of litters in wild carnivores has big limitations. This study aims to shed light on the virus dynamics among wild carnivores thanks to the analysis of 213 samples collected between 1994 and 2013 in wild ecosystems from Spain. We determined the presence of carnivore parvovirus DNA by real-time PCR and sequenced the vp2 gen from 22 positive samples to characterize the strains and to perform phylogenetic analysis. The presence of carnivore parvovirus DNA was confirmed in 18% of the samples, with a higher prevalence detected in wolves (Canis lupus signatus, 70%). Fourteen sequences belonging to nine wolves, three Eurasian badgers (Meles meles), a common genet (Genetta genetta) and a European wildcat (Felis silvestris) were classified as canine parvovirus 2c (CPV-2c); five sequences from three wolves, a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and a stone marten (Martes foina) as CPV-2b; and three sequences from a badger, a genet and a stone marten as feline parvovirus (FPV). This was the first report of a wildcat infected with a canine strain. Sequences described in this study were identical or very close related to others previously found in domestic carnivores from distant countries, suggesting that cross-species transmission takes place and that the parvovirus epidemiology in Spain, as elsewhere, could be influenced by global factors.
Highlights
Canine and feline parvoviruses (CPV and FPV) belong to the newly assigned speciesCarnivore protoparvovirus-1, commonly known as carnivore parvoviruses (Cotmore et al., 2014)
The aim of this study was to describe for the first time the prevalence of parvovirus infection in wild carnivores in Spain and characterize the circulating strains
Most sampled animals were found dead in forested areas near human habitation, usually road kill, except 20 Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus), which were legally shot in remote forested areas
Summary
Canine and feline parvoviruses (CPV and FPV) belong to the newly assigned species. Carnivore protoparvovirus-1, commonly known as carnivore parvoviruses (Cotmore et al., 2014). Even though CPV and FPV are antigenic variants of the same virus species and share a genome homology of 98% (Reed, Jones, & Miller, 1988), there are evolutionary and epidemiological differences between them. While FPV existed from, at least, the beginning of the 20th Century (Verge & Christoforoni, 1928) and remained without noticeable changes during the last decades; CPV emerged in dog populations in the 1970s and underwent notable antigenic drift. The first antigenic variant or strain of CPV was named CPV-2 and it was rapid replaced globally by CPV-2a in 1980.
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