1.Molecular evidence and hematological alterations associated with the occurrence of coronavirus in domestic dogs in Pakistan
Sulehria, M.U. ; Ahmad, S.S. ; Ijaz, M. ; Mushtaq, M.H. ; Khan, A.Y. ; Ghaffar, A.
Tropical Biomedicine 2020;37(No.4):963-972
Canine Enteric Coronavirus (CCoV) is one of the major enteric pathogen affecting
dogs. This study aims to investigate the molecular prevalence, phylogenetic analysis,
associated risk factors, and haemato-biochemical alterations in Canine Coronavirus in dogs
in district Lahore, Pakistan. 450 fecal samples were collected from symptomatic dogs
originating from various pet-clinics and kennels during 2018-2019. Samples were initially
analyzed by sandwich lateral flow immunochromatographic assay and then further processed
by RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) targeting the M gene followed
by sequencing. RT-PCR based positive (n=20) and negative (n=20) dogs were samples for
their blood for the haemato-biochemical analysis. A questionnaire was used to collect data
from pet owners, in order to analyze the data for risk factors analysis by chi square test on
SPSS. The prevalence of CCoV was 35.1%, and 23.8 % through Sandwich lateral flow
immunochromatographic and RT-PCR respectively. Various risk factors like breed, age, sex,
vomiting, diarrhea, sample source, body size, cohabitation with other animals, living
environment, food, deworming history, contact with other animals or birds feces, and season
were significantly associated with CCoV. The CCoV identified in Pakistan were 98% similar
with the isolates from China (KT 192675, 1), South Korea (HM 130573, 1), Brazil (GU 300134,
1), Colombia (MH 717721, 1), United Kingdom (JX 082356, 1) and Tunisia (KX156806). Haematobiochemical alterations in CCoV affected dogs revealed anaemia, leucopenia, lymphopenia,
neutrophilia, and decreased packed cell volume, and a significant increase in alkaline phosphate
and alanine transaminase. It is concluded that infection with canine coronavirus appears
widespread among dog populations in district Lahore, Pakistan. This study is the first report
regarding the molecular detection and sequence analysis of CCoV in Pakistan.