Epizootiological investigations of canine distemper virus in free-ranging carnivors from Germany
2000
Frolich, K. | Czupalla, O. | Haas, L. | Hentschke, J. | Dedek, J. | Fickel, J.
Canine distemper virus (CDV) infects a broad range of carnivores. To assess whether wild carnivores may play a role in the epidemiology of CDV in domestic dogs in Germany, the seroprevalence of CDV was determined. In sera from red foxes (30 of 591 (5%)) and stone martens (2 of 10 (20%)) antiviral antibodies were detected using a neutralization assay, whereas sera of raccoons, two mink, one pine marten and one raccoon dog were negative. In foxes, there was a significantly higher prevalence in urban and suburban compared to rural regions. When testing lung and spleen tissue samples (fox, badger, stone marten, polecat, raccoon dog) 13 of 253 (5.1%) foxes, 2 of 13 (15.4%) stone martens and 2 of 6 (33%) badgers were virus positive using RT-PCR. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of the F gene revealed a distinct relatedness to canine CDV isolates. Together, the data support the concept of transmission of CDV between domestic dogs and wild carnivores.
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