Absence of parvovirus shedding in feces of endangered carnivores from Misiones, Argentina.

OROZCO MM; BUCAFUSCO D; ARGIBAY H; RINAS MA; DEMATTEO KE; ARGÜELLES CF; BRATANICH A; GÜRTLER RE

JOURNAL OF ZOO AND WILDLIFE MEDICINE

AMER ASSOC ZOO VETERINARIANS

Lugar: Lawrence; Año: 2018 vol. 49 p. 1054 - 1060

1042-7260

Since its emergence in the 1970s, canine parvovirus (CPV) has spread worldwide and infects a widevariety of mammalian hosts, including domestic and nondomestic carnivores. Today it is one of the mostimportant pathogenic viruses associated with high morbidity and mortality in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). InSouth America, the range of wild hosts has been scarcely studied and the epidemiology of CPV in wildlife is stillunclear. In 2011, feces from five wild carnivores (bush dog [Speothos venaticus], jaguar [Panthera onca], puma [Pumaconcolor], oncilla [Leopardus guttulus], and ocelot [Leopardus pardalis]) were collected in Misiones, Argentina, usinga detection dog. Of the 289 feces collected, 209 (72.3%) had sufficient sample remaining to be used in this studyand the majority of these were genetically confirmed to individual (81.3%) and sex (78.4%) level. In fact, thesesamples represent a minimum of 115 individuals (10 jaguars, 13 pumas, 33 ocelots, 38 oncillas, and 21 bush dogs).Through polymerase chain reaction, a 583-bp fragment in the VP2 gene of CPV was amplified in these samples.While no samples showed evidence of infection, this does not exclude the occurrence of CPV in wild carnivores inthe area, as intermittent viral shedding could condition the diagnosis of CPV in feces of infected wild mammals.Locally, it is recommended that long-term monitoring of parvovirus be continued in wildlife and expanded todomestic carnivores. Internationally, this study provides a useful contribution to the approach to the sylvatic cycleof parvovirus in wild carnivores.