Seroepidemiological Evidence of Subtype H3N8 Influenza Virus Infection among Pet Dogs in China

PLoS One. 2016 Jul 14;11(7):e0159106. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159106. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The H3N8 virus and the H3N2 virus are the main subtypes of canine influenza virus (CIV). H3N8 CIV mainly circulates in America, and H3N2 CIV mainly circulates in Asia. However, there was an outbreak of the Asian H3N2 virus in the United States (US) in 2015. Thus, it is important to evaluate the presence of subtype H3N8 virus in dogs in China. From May 2015 to November 2015, 600 sera from pet dogs were collected from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen for hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays and microneutralization (MN) assays. Fifty-two (8.66%) of the 600 sera were positive for the subtype H3N2 virus, which matched the previous reports. Five (0.83%) of 600 sera were positive for the subtype H3N8 virus (H3N8 EIV or H3N8 AIV or H3N8 CIV), which is the first report of subtype H3N8 virus infection among dogs in China and remind us to play more attention to this subtype virus. Therefore, further serological and virological surveillance of influenza virus infection among dogs in China is imperative.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood
  • China
  • Dog Diseases / blood
  • Dog Diseases / virology*
  • Dogs
  • Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests
  • Influenza A Virus, H3N8 Subtype / isolation & purification*
  • Orthomyxoviridae Infections / blood
  • Orthomyxoviridae Infections / veterinary*
  • Orthomyxoviridae Infections / virology
  • Pets

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral

Grants and funding

This project was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31372448), the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201303042), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (S2013020013858), the Promote Scientific and Technological Development Program (2013B040200032), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (20140224, 2013B020202001), and the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Severe Clinical Animal Diseases (2013A061401013).