Nosocomial outbreak of serious canine infectious tracheobronchitis (kennel cough) caused by canine herpesvirus infection

Abstract

Canine herpesvirus (CHV; Canid herpesvirus 1) is principally a perinatal pathogen of pregnant bitches and newborn pups and secondarily a respiratory tract pathogen of older pups and dogs. Infectious disease of the canine respiratory tract frequently occurs among dogs in groups, in which it is called " infectious tracheobronchitis" (ITB). Mortality from ITB is generally negligible, and the clinical importance of CHV as an ITB pathogen is considered to be low. The present report describes a novel ITB outbreak accompanied by death among aged dogs in an animal medical center. Most inpatient dogs had received medications that could induce immunosuppression. CHV was the only pathogen identified, and several CHV isolates were recovered in cell culture. No other viral pathogens or significant bacterial pathogens were found. Molecular and serological analyses revealed that the causative CHV isolates were from a single source but that none was a peculiar strain when the strains were compared with previous CHV strains. The virus had presumably spread among the dogs predisposed to infection in the center. The present results serve as a warning to canine clinics that, under the specific set of circumstances described, such serious CHV outbreaks may be expected wherever canine ITB occurs.

FIG. 1.

RFLP of viral DNA of the present CHV isolates and reference CHV strains. DNA extracted from virus-infected cells was digested with the endonucleases HindIII (lanes 1 to 6) and XbaI (lanes 7 to 12). Lanes: 1 and 7, reference strain D004; 2 and 8, reference strain GCH-1; 3 and 9, isolate 08/005; 4 and 10, isolate 08/011; 5 and 11, isolate 08/015; 6 and 12, isolate 08/021; M, bacteriophage lambda DNA digested with HindIII as a size marker. Arrowheads indicate the different fragments clearly detected between the isolates tested in the present study and the reference CHV strains.