Abstract
BackgroundCanine noroviruses (NoVs) have been recently described in south European countries and associated with outbreaks of diarrhea in kennels. Unlike human NoV which are known as an important cause of acute gastroenteritis, little is known about the role of canine NoV as pathogens in dogs as well as its epidemiological features.ResultsFrom 2007–2011, 256 stool samples were collected from dogs across Portugal and tested by RT-PCR for canine NoV. Viral fecal shedding was found to be 23% (60/256). All sequences contained the GLPSG amino acid motif characteristic of the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase gene of NoVs and had a high nucleotide identity (range 98%–100%) to the canine NoV first described in Portugal. The highest shedding rate was detected during the winter months.ConclusionsThis study shows that canine NoV infection is endemic in the dog population of Portugal. Peak shedding was detected in the winter months, a well-known epidemiologic feature of human NoV infections.
Highlights
Canine noroviruses (NoVs) have been recently described in south European countries and associated with outbreaks of diarrhea in kennels
We described an outbreak of gastroenteritis associated with canine NoV among kenneled dogs in Portugal
From a total of 91 dogs tested in winter months, 33 (36%) were found to be shedding canine NoV, whereas only 25% (21/84) and 7% (6/81) were shedding canine NoV in spring and autumn months, respectively (Figure 2)
Summary
Canine noroviruses (NoVs) have been recently described in south European countries and associated with outbreaks of diarrhea in kennels. Unlike human NoV which are known as an important cause of acute gastroenteritis, little is known about the role of canine NoV as pathogens in dogs as well as its epidemiological features. Human NoVs are the most frequent cause of outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis and the most common cause of sporadic enteric illness [2,3]. NoVs were reported in dogs with acute gastroenteritis [5,6]. Canine NoV closely related to genogroup IV viruses was described in a diarrheic pup in Italy [5] and caused an outbreak of diarrhea in a kennel in Greece [7]. A genetically different canine NoV was detected in dogs with diarrhea in Portugal [6]. We described an outbreak of gastroenteritis associated with canine NoV among kenneled dogs in Portugal, Methods
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