Antiviral antibodies in dogs in the Netherlands.

Besides the classic canine viruses causing distemper, infectious hepatitis (canine adenovirus type I ; CAV,) and rabies a number of viruses have been isolated from dogs (5). Some of these were known to occur in other species, like parainfluenza type 2 (PI2; SV,), mumps virus, REOvirus type 1, ECHOvirus type 6, Coxsackie B viruses (types 1, 3 and 5), eastern and western equine encephalitis virus and pseudorabies virus, whereas others like canine herpesvirus (CHV), canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV,) and canine parvovirus appear to be specific for dogs. An even wider range of viruses has been found to induce antibodies in the dog e. g. the human influenza viruses, the parainfluenza viruses and the REOviruses with their respective serotypes (1, 8). The role played by the dog in the epizootiology of viruses occurring in other species is still unknown. Serologic surveys have been carried out in several countries in order to estimate the incidence of different virus infections in the dog (2, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 20). As in other countries infectious laryngotracheitis (kennel cough) and neonatal mortality (NM) represent unresolved problems in the Netherlands, too. Viruses which have been connected with kennel cough are CAV,, CAV2, CHV, REO,, PI, and influenza A,/Hongkong virus (1, 3, 4, 15, 23); viruses known to play a role in NM of dogs are CAV, and CHV (17,21). In this paper a serologic survey is presented of antibodies against viruses in open and closed dog populations in the Netherlands. A comparison is made between the data from different groups and the results are compared with similar studies carried out in other countries.