| dc.description.abstract | The canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV) is one of many coronaviruses circulating among animals and was discovered in the UK in 2003 by Erles et all1. Like every coronavirus, CRCoV contains a single-stranded RNA molecule, a capsid and projecting spikes that give the virus its specific appearance in electron micrographs.
Coronaviruses are classified into three different antigenic groups and can cause respiratory, enteric, hepatic and even neurological symptoms in humans and animals. The CRCoV belongs to group 2a and is genetically very similar to the bovine coronavirus. Group 2 coronaviruses have an additional protein, the hemagglutin-esterase protein (HE-protein)2, 3.
CRCov itself causes no or only mild respiratory symptoms like coughing, sneezing and rhinitis, but in combination with other pathogens, severe clinical signs can be seen. It is thought that CRCoV plays a role in the canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD). The most important pathogens causing CIRD are canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2), canine influenza virus (CIV) and Bordetella bronchiseptica. These pathogens can cause (severe) clinical signs on their own, but can invade the body much more easy when the respiratory tract is made vulnerable by, for example, the CRCoV4.
In a couple of countries, the seroprevalence of infections with the CRCoV was already
studied5-9. The seroprevalences range from 17,8% in Japan to 59,1% in Canada. In the Netherlands there are no data on the seroprevalence and during this study this seroprevalence was determined using Virus Neutralization tests. The aim of the current study was also to develop an ELISA based on the HE protein of the Bovine coronavirus to determine if these results correlate with the results of the VN tests. Also it was tried to develop an ELISA based on the HE protein of the CRCoV itself and these results were also compared to the results of the BCoV-HE+ ELISA and the VN tests. | |
