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Realtime PCR
Parvoviruses
Parvovirus is a very small non-enveloped DNA virus with extreme environmental stability.
It can persist in the environment for up to a year and is also very temperature-resistant.
Animals become infected oronasally with parvoviruses. First, virus replication occurs in the mucous membranes, then followed by viraemia. The lymphatic system and organs become infected.
Dog
In dogs, parvovirus infection usually progresses as a cyclic systemic disease with a manifestationin the intestinal epithelium and the resulting clinical picture of anorexia, fever, vomiting and persistent bloody diarrhoea.
The disease is most severe in puppies. Different clinical forms of parvovirus infection can develop. The peracute form results in death within a few hours, usually without any serious signs. The acute form, however, is characterised by severe symptoms. High fever, severe bloody diarrhoea and vomiting occur. Due to the high affinity of the virus to tissues with high mitotic activity, severe leukopenia occurs simultaneously. If the leucocyte count falls below 2000 cells/µl, prognosis must be made carefully. Subclinically infected animals represent the pathogen reservoir as they shed the virus via the faeces.
Cat
Feline parvovirus infection – panleukopenia – is a highly contagious systemic disease of felids. The mortality rate among unvaccinated animals is over 80%.
Clinically, the disease is characterised by fever, diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration. The blood count shows extreme leukopenia. A special case is the intrauterine infection. The mother cat is infected without showing any symptoms, but it leads to the abortion or death of the kittens. If kittens are born alive, there is often a cerebellar hypoplasia, which leads to ataxia and tremor, usually without any impairment of consciousness.
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