Coronavirus Enteritis

Coronavirus enteritis is an infectious disease caused by Canine coronavirus (CCV, or CCoV) which is seen in dogs worldwide. The family consists of pathogens of many animal species and of humans. Coronaviruses cause acute and chronic respiratory, gastrointestinal, and central nervous system (CNS) diseases in many species of animals, including humans. Dogs of all ages and breeds are susceptible to infection, as are coyotes.

Infection occurs through ingestion of the virus, infected animals or their feces. Younger animals are more severely affected. Although in most cases Canine coronavirus causes mild or moderate inflammatory bowel disease (enteritis) in puppies, there have been reports of fatal infections in dogs by coronavirus. The virus is highly contagious and avoiding contact with infected dogs and their feces or urine is the only way to ensure disease prevention.

Signs of Coronavirus Enteritis

Clinical signs may include depression, loss of appetite, diarrhea (sometimes with blood), and vomiting. Stools are loose, often yellow-orange in color and foul-smelling. In most cases, recovery without treatment occurs within 7 to 10 days. Occasionally, diarrhea may persist for several weeks.

Diagnosis of Coronavirus Enteritis

The appearance of pathogenic CCV variants should always be regarded as a potential threat to dogs and considered when unexplainable fatal disease outbreaks occur in puppies and and where several animals are affected simultaneously. Definitive diagnosis requires laboratory confirmation, most often detection of viral particles in the stool.

Treatment of Coronavirus Enteritis

Treatment is supportive only and consists of controlling vomiting and fluid loss. Vaccines are available.

References:
1. UC Davis Book of Dogs : The Complete Medical Reference Guide for Dogs and Puppies Mordecai Siegal
2. Canine Coronavirus Highly Pathogenic for Dogs, Canio Buonavoglia, Nicola Decaro, Vito 'Martella, Gabriella Elia, Marco Campolo, Costantina Desario, Massimo Castagnaro, and Maria 'Tempesta, University of Bari, Bari, Italy, and University of Padua, Padova, Italy