Prevalence and risk factors of astrovirus infection in puppies from French breeding kennels.
Aiming at determining the prevalence and the risk factors associated to astrovirus infection in puppy, fecal samples were collected in 316 puppies (age from 5 to 14 weeks of age) from 33 French breeding kennels. Data were registered for each puppy, including age, breed, gender, origin of the dog, and feces quality. The samples were tested by specific RT-PCR for the presence of canine astrovirus. Astroviruses were identified in 20.9% (66/316) of the puppies and in 42% (14/33) of the breeding kennels. Young puppies (i.e. <7 weeks of age) and puppies from large breeding kennels were more likely to be infected by the astrovirus. No association between the quality of feces and astrovirus infection could be determined in this survey.
Université Paris-Est, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Unité de Médecine de l'Elevage et du Sport (UMES), 7 avenue du général de Gaulle, 94704 Maisons-Alfort, Cedex, France. agrellet@vet-alfort.fr
Aurélien
A
Grellet
Cristian
C
De Battisti
Alexandre
A
Feugier
Marcella
M
Pantile
Sabrina
S
Marciano
Dominique
D
Grandjean
Giovanni
G
Cattoli
D000818:Animals; D019200:Astroviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019350:Astroviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001947:Breeding; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D004285:Dogs; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012307:Risk Factors