Background: Canid herpesvirus-1 (CaHV-1) infection in puppies less than three weeks of age is often reported to be associated with a lethal generalized necrotizing inflammation and since the discovery of the virus in 1965 several reports of neonatal infections have been published. However, the significance of CaHV-1 for peri- and neonatal mortality in puppies remains unclear. Therefore, we examined stillborn and dead neonatal puppies in Denmark to determine the prevalence of infection and further to correlate infection levels with necropsy findings to assess the possible significance of the infection.
Results: From a cross-sectional study of 57 dead puppies, 22.8% (n = 13) were confirmed positive for CaHV-1 by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of tissue pools of lung/liver and/or spleen/kidney. Specimens from PCR positive cases were further investigated by histology and in situ hybridization (ISH). High levels of CaHV-1 DNA were present in only one case in which lesions and ISH staining consistent with CaHV-1 infection were found as well. CaHV-1 concentrations in the other cases were low and a range of lesions not consistent with CaHV-1 were found. Similar, ISH staining was mostly negative in these except for one case with a few positive cells.
Conclusion: CaHV-1 infection in stillborn and dead neonatal puppies in Denmark seems to be common, but the direct significance for puppy mortality remains unclear as only one of 13 PCR positive puppies (7.7%) had pathognomonic lesions.