Molecular and Phylogenetic Analysis of Canine Parvovirus Variants ( 2 A-2 B-2 C ) in Egypt

| Canine parvovirus (CPV-2) infection is the main cause of fatal gastroenteritis in dogs. This study was directed to determine the variants of CPV-2 currently circulating in Egypt with reference to different risk factors that affecting occurrence of virus infection between dog populations. Seventy-eight dogs showed clinical signs of fever, different degrees of diarrhea, vomiting and anorexia out of total 117 dogs examined in different veterinary clinics at Sharkia and Dakahlia governorates during the period from February 2018 till June 2019. Using of CPV detection fast card test reported positive reaction in 48 fecal samples. PCR detection of canine parvovirus protein 2 (VP2) revealed positive reaction in 56 fecal swabs and 4 vomiting samples collected from clinically diseased dogs showing 360 bp bands by gel electrophoresis. Four positive fecal samples and one vomiting sample were randomly selected for sequencing. The fecal samples revealed presence of CPV-2a in one sample collected from Sharkia governorate and CPV-2b in three samples collected from Dakahlia governorate, while the vomiting sample collected from Dakahlia governorate showed CPV-2c. Protein alignment of the sequenced samples revealed mutation in different location of CPV-2b and CPV-2c. This is the first paper to detect CPV-2 (CPV-2c) antigen in the vomiting sample of naturally diseased dog by PCR. The highest rate of CPV-2 infection was found in the spring than other seasons, Pit bull dogs than other dog breeds, dogs aged from 2-4 months than other age groups and non-vaccinated than vaccinated dogs. We confirm that the three variants of CPV-2 (CPV-2a, CPV-2b and CPV-2c) are circulating in Egypt with rapid spread between the different governorates. CPV can be detected in the vomit of naturally infected dogs by PCR. Amino acid substitutions are continuously occurred in VP2 of CPV-2.