Group 2 coronavirus antibodies found in 17.8% of dogs in Japan

Abstract

Canine coronavirus (CCoV) has been reported to cause acute diarrhea mainly in young pups. CCoV and feline coronavirus are classified as group 1 coronaviruses. However, it has recently been reported in the United Kingdom that the group 2 coronavirus gene, which is more closely related to the bovine coronavirus (BCoV) and human coronavirus strain OC43, has been detected in respiratory tract tissue samples from dogs with respiratory disease. In this study, we examined the prevalence of antibodies to group 2 coronaviruses in domestic dogs and cats in Japan by a neutralization test using BCoV. All 104 feline serum samples were negative (<1:5) for anti-BCoV antibodies. In contrast, of the 898 canine serum samples, 160 (17.8%) were positive for anti-BCoV antibodies, and the antibody titers ranged from 1:5 to more than 1:640, with 1:160 being the most frequent. No correlation was found between the titers of the anti-BCoV and anti-CCoV antibodies in the 198 serum samples of dogs with a known history of CCoV vaccination. We amplified, by RT-PCR, group 2 coronavirus-specific hemagglutination/esterase genes in the oral swabs of a total of 10 young pups presenting with or having recovered from respiratory signs, or having anti-BCoV antibodies, with the result that 2 pups were positive for the hemagglutination/esterase genes. These results strongly suggest that an unknown group 2 coronavirus as well as the known enteritis-causing CCoV (group 1 coronavirus) is prevalent among domestic dogs in Japan.