Identification of co-infection by rotavirus and parvovirus in dogs with gastroenteritis in Mexico

Ortega, Ariadna Flores; Martínez-Castañeda, José Simón; Bautista-Gómez, Linda G.; Muñoz, Raúl Fajardo; Hernández, Israel Quijano

Data from the present study were compared to previous studies, and our results show a relatively high percentage of dogs with co-infection (14%) in relation to findings in other countries, for instance 2.4% has been reported in U.S.A., as inferred from reverse passive hemagglutination (RPHA), in Japan, 1.2% was estimated from viral isolation and 2% using electron microscopy, while in Italy there were no identifications using PAGE. 1, 2, 4 These low percentages might be related to the techniques employed in these studies, in this sense, in the present study RT-PCR was used which has demonstrated a higher sensitivity. 16 It is also possible that contrasting results are influenced by the country where studies were conducted, as it is well documented that different rotavirus genotypes are associated with low-income areas. Furthermore, other studies have reported the presence of rotavirus only in pups less than two months of age or newborns, 11 however, in this study rotavirus infection was detected in dogs older than 6 months.