Affects: Dogs
Canine circovirus (CaCV or DogCV), first isolated in 2012, is a small non-enveloped, icosahedral, single-stranded DNA virus that infects domestic dogs and wild canids exclusively. It is a member of the Circoviridae family and the genus Circovirus. There are currently 11 species of known circoviruses that have been identified to affect a wide variety of birds and mammals. As seen with all extensively studied circoviruses, the diameter ranges between approximately 15 and 25 nanometers. The icosahedral triangulation number is 1, the smallest size a viral capsid can be, in which there are a total of 60 protein subunits that make up the capsid. CaCV is not to be confused with canine coronavirus, another diarrhea-causing agent within the family Coronaviridae, or porcine circoviruses which are a members of the same genus as CaCV but only seen in pigs. CaCV (genome 1) was the first Circovirus to be identified that infects a mammal species other than pigs.
Symptoms: Circoviruses are generally known to be responsible for potentially fatal illnesses in birds, pigs, bats, dogs, minks, and humans. Dogs with circovirus infection may develop hematochezia, hemorrhagic diarrhea, and increasing vomiting, and possible conditions include ascites, pleural effusion, hypovolemic shock, bicavitary hemorrhage, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Organs that CaCV DNA has been shown to be present in include the intestines, spleen, lungs, brain, liver, and lymph nodes.
Co-infections are also a common occurrence in animals afflicted with CaCV. Canine distemper and parvovirus (genotype 2) were the most common co-infectors in a group of domestic dogs and other wild canids studied in 2016 by Zaccaria et al. It is also suspected that younger individuals may be more at risk of developing life-threatening symptoms than adult animals, but that claim cannot yet be scientifically made due to sampling bias. A cure for CaCV is currently unknown and treatment is non-specific.