Viral antibody studies of laboratory dogs with diarrheal disease

Viral antibody studies were done on laboratory dogs in an epizootic of gastrointestinal disease. Increased hemagglutination-inhibition antibody titers to a parvovirus (PV) antigenically related to feline panleukopenia virus were found in convalescent serum specimens of 78% (20/26) of the affected dogs and in 83% (5/6) of apparently healthy dogs. With one exception, all dogs tested had significant levels of hemagglutination-inhibition antibody to this PV. Similar increased antibody titers were found to feline panleukopenia virus. Also, neutralizing antibody responses were detected to the canine coronavirus in 24% (6/25) and canine herpesvirus in 45% (10/22) of the affected dogs. However, antibody titers did not increase to canine distemper virus, infectious canine hepatitis virus, canine parainfluenza virus, or minute virus of canines. Subsequent serotesting of the colony provided evidence that additional PV infections occurred in pups from each of 8 litters born 3 to 8 months after the epizootic. These findings indicated the continued presence of the PV for more than 1 year in the infected colony. Of 19 laboratory personnel who worked with the affected dogs, none, including 4 with a concurrent diarrheal disease, developed or had antibodies to the PV or canine coronavirus.