Spreading of canine parvovirus type 2c mutants of Asian origin in southern Italy

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) emerged as dog pathogen in the late 1970s, causing severe and often fatal epizootics of gastroenteritis in the canine population worldwide. Although to date CPV-2 is circulating in all continents, most of the current studies have analysed the amino acid changes accounted in the VP2 gene sequence, with limited information on virus introductions from other countries. The aim of this study was to analyse the genetic features of CPV-2c strains currently spreading in Italy. Swabs and tissue samples were collected from dogs suspected of CPV infection. The nearly complete genome sequence from the CPV-positive samples was obtained. The co-circulation of two different but related CPV-2c strains, with amino acid changes characteristic of CPV strains of Asian origin (NS1: 60V, 544F, 545F, 630P - NS2: 60V, 151N, 152V - VP2: 5A/G, 267Y, 297A, 324I, 370R), were observed. The phylogenetic analyses inferred from the NS1 and VP2 gene sequences confirmed the relationship with Asian CPV-2c strains. This study reports the spread of novel CPV-2c mutants in Italy and supports further studies to evaluate the coexistence of genetically divergent CPV strains in the same geographical environment.