First isolation and molecular characterization of canine parvovirus-type 2b (CPV-2b) from red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) living in the wild habitat of Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The canine parvovirus, with its many variants, is responsible for a pivotal and common viral infection affecting millions of dogs and other carnivore species worldwide, particularly the wild ones, which are considered as the main reservoir hosts. To that end, this study investigated the presence of canine parvovirus (CPV) in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) living in wild habitats of several regions of Turkey. METHODS: We randomly collected 630 archival fox stool specimens from rural areas of 22 provinces and used real-time PCR to detect CPV. RESULTS: Two of the 630 (0.3%) stool samples were positive for CPV-DNA, named Tr-Fox/128(Aydin) and Tr-Fox/159(Manisa). We attempted to isolate the virus in a MDCK cell line, and cytopathic effects were observed four days post-inoculation. Three regions corresponding to the CPV capsid protein VP2 gene from extracted DNA of positive samples were amplified by conventional PCR, and the products were visualised, purified, and Sanger sequenced. Three overlapping DNA raw sequence fragments, were read, assembled, and aligned to obtain approximately 1.5 kb-long regions that cover most of the VP2 gene, then deposited in GenBank. After comparing the isolates with parvovirus sequences data of domestic and wild carnivores by BLAST processing, our isolates' similarity rate with each other was 99.40%, with base differences in 9 nucleotide positions. They were classified as 2b variant closely related to isolates from dogs in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, Thailand, and China. CONCLUSION: This study presents evidence of interspecies transmission of CPV, of which there are no reports on prevalence in wildlife carnivores of our country. Identification of CPV in red foxes threatens local and hunting dogs, which may contract the infection or disseminate it to other wild animal species or vice-versa.

A serosurvey for bovine respirovirus 3 in Turkish domestic ruminants: The first comparison study of A and C genotypes.

Bovine parainfluenza virus-3 (BPIV-3), also known as bovine respirovirus 3, causes serious respiratory infection in ungulates, often involving other pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and mycoplasmas. In this study, we evaluated antibody titers against virus genotypes A (BPIV-3a) and C (BPIV-3c). We conducted a serological survey and comparison analysis of archived serum samples from small and large ruminants reared in four Turkish provinces. A total of 1,307 samples, consisting of sheep (n = 444), cattle (n = 402), water buffalo (n = 261) and goat (n = 200) sera, were randomly selected from stock samples collected between 2015 and 2019 and screened by standard virus neutralisation assay. We found that 49.9% (653/1307) of all samples were positive for neutralising antibody titers. Goats had the highest titer, with total seropositivity of 63% (126/200), followed in descending order by cattle, sheep and water buffalo at 56.2% (226/402), 32.2% (143/444) and 26% (68/261) total seropositivity, respectively. BPIV-3c had the highest neutralising antibody rate at 34.3% (448/1307), whereas BPIV-3a had a 24.3% (317/1307) seropositivity rate. Neutralising antibody titers for positive samples ranged between 1/4 and 1/512 per the SN50 test. Seropositivity rates ranged from a low of 8.9% to a high of 18.3%. Our study was the first to compare antibody seroprevalence for two BPIV-3 genotypes in small and large domestic ruminants, which were shown to be more commonly exposed to BPIV-3c than BPIV-3a. This finding could have significant implications as current vaccines mainly use the BPIV-3a genotype. Further research can determine if current vaccines protect against different BPIV-3 virus genotypes.