Enterale coronavirusinfecties bij pups met diarree

Abstract

Canine enteric coronavirus (CECoV) is a virus which usually causes mild, self-limiting infections restricted to the enteric tract. In Bari, Italy, Decaro et al. recently discovered a highly pathogenic CECov which caused systemic disease in puppies. This research is part of a large research project in which causes of diarrhoea in Dutch puppies are evaluated. Veterinarians all over the Netherlands collected faeces samples from puppies. These samples, both from puppies with and from puppies without diarrhoea, were analyzed using a Real-time RT-PCR. Most puppies (32/37) that tested positive for CECoV suffered from diarrhoea. Further research is necessary to find out if infection with CECoV is the cause of diarrhoea in these puppies and which CECoV strain can be isolated from their faeces. Also the in clinic Fassisi ParCo® test was evaluated. Compared with the Real-time RT-PCR the sensitivity of this test was 21,43% and the specificity was 93,55%. Different factors influence the PCR results. Because it is not always possible to extract RNA directly from a faeces sample , the effect of freezing samples before extracting RNA was assessed. Furthermore the effects of keeping RNA under different conditions before doing the PCR were evaluated.