Systemic fatal type coronavirus infection in a dog: pathological findings and immunohistochemistry

A case of fatal systemic coronavirus infection is described in a 53-day-old Pekinese dog. Pathological findings and immunohistochemical identification using a monoclonal anti-canine Coronavirus antibody are included. Visceral lesions consisted of extensive fibrinopurulent bronchopneumonia, multiple renal cortical infarcts, severe coalescing centrilobular hepatic fatty change with minimal random hepatic necrosis, and multifocal splenic haemorrhage with lymphoid depletion. Moderate chronic diffuse enteritis was associated with intraluminal adult ascarids. Identification of type I and type 11 coronavirus in this subject had been previously confirmed by genotype-specific real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays of the intestinal contents, while only Coronavirus type 11 was detected in visceral organs. This case represents the first description of morphological lesions associated with a type 11 pantropic fatal coronavirus infection in the dog. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.