Research Communications of the 27(th) ECVIM-CA Congress: Intercontinental, Saint Julian's, Malta, 14th to 16th September 2017

Disclosures: No disclosures to report. Clostridium difficile (CD) is a common cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in humans and has been associated with diarrhea in dogs. Salmonellosis is a major zoonotic disease but the transmission pathway is unclear. It is thus important to evaluate the risk factors that increase the likelihood of infection. Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a prevalent and fatal cause of canine enteritis often exacerbated by concurrent infection with other enteropathogens. Persistent isolation of Salmonella spp. during hospital environmental surveys of the isolation ward prompted further investigation. This study was designed to determine the comparative prevalence of CD and Salmonella spp. in dogs with CPV and healthy dogs. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Pretoria and conducted from October 2015 to March 2017. Fresh fecal samples were collected from dogs aged 6 weeks to 9 months diagnosed and admitted with CPV infection, and healthy dogs presented for vaccination or routine hospital procedures. CPV shedding was confirmed using negative staining electron microscopy. CD was detected via commercial fecal antigen enzyme immunoassay for glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), TcdA and TcdB. In addition, feces was submitted for the isolation, antimicrobial susceptibility and serotyping of Salmonella spp.