Description
Parvovirus and canine distemper virus are major viral causes of canine diarrhoea, especially in young or poorly vaccinated dogs, and both can be detected sensitively by PCR on appropriate samples. Canine parvovirus classically causes acute haemorrhagic enteritis with depression, inappetence, vomiting, foul-smelling often bloody diarrhoea, and leukopenia; PCR on faeces (and sometimes blood or pharyngeal swabs) amplifies viral DNA and is useful when in-clinic antigen tests are negative or when very early or low level infection is suspected.
Canine distemper virus often produces multisystemic disease with respiratory signs, diarrhoea, fever, and later neurologic signs, and is typically diagnosed by RT PCR detecting viral RNA in urine, conjunctival, nasal, or pharyngeal swabs, whole blood, or cerebrospinal fluid in clinically compatible cases. Clostridium perfringens, Giardia spp., and Cryptosporidium spp. are important enteric pathogens that can also be found in healthy dogs, so PCR results must be interpreted in the context of clinical signs and organism load.
C. perfringens is associated with acute large bowel diarrhoea (small volumes, mucus, tenesmus, sometimes blood) and can be assessed by PCR assays targeting toxin genes to help distinguish potentially pathogenic strains from simple carriage. Giardia typically causes intermittent soft, pale, or greasy diarrhoea with weight loss or failure to thrive, and PCR on faeces detects Giardia DNA and can be combined with antigen assays to improve sensitivity and help subtype organisms in research or outbreak settings.
Cryptosporidium infection ranges from subclinical shedding to watery diarrhoea and weight loss, particularly in young or immunocompromised animals, and faecal PCR targeting Cryptosporidium DNA provides a sensitive means of diagnosis and speciation when used alongside clinical assessment and, where needed, concentration or staining methods.
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