Parvoviruses are single stranded, non-enveloped, DNA viruses. Due to their lack of an envelope, they are extremely environmentally hardy and resistant to disinfection. Until the late 1970's, feline panleukopenia was the major disease associated with parvoviral infection in small animal medicine and canine parvovirus-1 (CPV-1) was a relatively non-pathogenic virus most commonly associated with illness in neonatal dogs. However, after the emergence of canine parvovirus-2 (CPV-2) from a carnivore parvovirus (likely cats, mink, or other closely related hosts) the infectious enteritis associated with CPV-2 infection became a significant disease in dogs. Canine parvovirus-2 evolved in a relatively short time into two variants, CPV-2a and CPV-2b, both of which are geographically widespread and associated with similar clinical signs and significant pathogenicity. It should be noted that CPV-2b is capable of infecting and causing disease in the cat, therefore, cross-species exposure of ill animals should beavoided. A new variant, CPV-2c, was first reported in Italy in 2000, with subsequent reports of detection in the United States starting in 2005. This newer variant is closely related to CPV-2a and CPV-2b and therefore, should in theory be similar in pathogenicity and virulence. Anecdotally, there are reports of failure of current vaccines to adequately protect from disease associated with CPV-2c; however, most published reports suggest there is adequate protection.
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