The seroprevalence of canine parvovirus (CPV), canine distemper
virus (CDV), canine
adenovirus (CAV) and canine herpesvirus (CHV) infections in red
foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was
determined in fox sera collected between 1991 and 1995. A total of 500
sera were selected and
the seroprevalences were estimated to be 13% (65 of 500 sera) for CPV,
4·4% (17 of 383 sera)
for CDV, 3·5% (17 of 485 sera) for CAV, and 0·4%
(2 of 485 sera) for CHV, respectively. No
statistically significant differences were observed between the two (rural
and suburban) areas
under study.Parvovirus DNA sequences were amplified from tissues of free-ranging
foxes and compared
to those of prototype viruses from dogs and cats. We report here a parvovirus
sequence
indicative of a true intermediate between the feline panleukopenia virus-like
viruses and the
canine parvovirus-like viruses. The red fox parvoviral sequence, therefore,
appears to represent
a link between those viral groups. The DNA sequence together with a significant
seroprevalence of parvovirus infections in foxes supports the hypothesis
that the sudden
emergence of canine parvovirus in the domestic dog population may have
involved the
interspecies transmission between wild and domestic carnivores.
Survey on viral pathogens in wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)
in
Germany with emphasis on parvoviruses and analysis of a
DNA sequence from a red fox parvovirus