What is ParvoVirus?
Parvovirus, commonly abbreviated to parvo, is a genus of the Parvoviridae family linear, non-segmented single stranded DNA viruses with an average genome size of 5 kbp. Parvoviruses are some of the smallest viruses found in nature (hence the name, from Latin parvus meaning small). Some have been found as small as 23nm.Many types of mammalian species have a strain of parvovirus associated with them. Parvoviruses tend to be specific about the taxon of animal they will infect, but this is a somewhat flexible characteristic. Thus, all strains of canine parvovirus will affect dogs, wolves, and foxes, but only some of them will infect cats.
No members of the genus Parvovirus are currently known to infect humans, but humans can be infected by viruses from three other genera from the Family Parvoviridae. These are the Dependoviruses (e.g. Adeno-Associated Virus), the Erythroviruses (e.g. Parvovirus B19) and the Bocaviruses.
Parvoviruses can cause disease in some animals. Because the viruses require actively dividing cells in order to replicate, the type of tissue infected varies with the age of the animal. The gastrointestinal tract and lymphatic system can be affected at any age, leading to vomiting, diarrhea and immunosuppression, but cerebellar hypoplasia is only seen in cats that were infected in the womb or at less than two weeks of age, and disease of the myocardium is seen in puppies infected between the ages of three and eight weeks.
Canine parvovirus is a particularly deadly disease among young puppies, about 80% fatal, causing gastrointestinal tract damage and dehydration as well as a cardiac syndrome in very young pups. It is spread by contact with an infected dog's feces. Symptoms include lethargy, severe diarrhea, fever, vomiting, loss of appetite, and dehydration. Mouse parvovirus 1, however, causes no symptoms but can contaminate immunology experiments in biological research laboratories. Porcine parvovirus causes a reproductive disease in swine known as SMEDI, which stands for stillbirth, mummification, embryonic death, and infertility. Feline panleukopenia is common in kittens and causes fever, low white blood cell count, diarrhea, and death. Infection of the cat fetus and kittens less than two weeks old causes cerebellar hypoplasia. Mink enteritis virus is similar in effect to feline panleukopenia, except that it does not cause cerebellar hypoplasia. A different parvovirus causes Aleutian disease in minks and other mustelids, characterized by lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, glomerulonephritis, anemia, and death. The most accurate diagnosis of parvovirus is by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay). Dogs, cats and swine can be vaccinated against parvovirus.