Identification of types of canine parvovirus circulating in Spain

Abstract

From 1990 to 1993, the presence of canine parvovirus (CPV) was confirmed in 13 of 141 samples of faeces or intestinal contents from dogs in Spain with clinical signs of CPV infection. Typing of the samples using an indirect double antibody sandwich ELISA (ELISA-IDAS) showed that 8 samples, including 3 obtained in 1993, were classified as CPV-2a and 5 as CPV-2b. An in vitro neutralization assay showed that 4 of a panel of 6 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) neutralized the original CPV-2 type, CPV-2a and CPV-2b completely while another produced the same level of partial neutralization of all isolates. One mAb produced complete neutralization of CPV-2 but only partial neutralization of CPV-2a and CPV-2b. This is the first report of the isolation of different CPV antigenic types in Spain and outside the USA. The results indicate clearly that these mutations will affect neither control of the disease by vaccination (since the critical neutralization epitopes are not affected) nor the diagnosis of the disease by current serological methods.