The illegal trade of animals poses several health issues to the global community, among which are the underestimated risk for spillover infection and the potential for an epizootic in both wildlife and domestic naïve populations. We herein describe the genetic and antigenic characterization of viruses of the specie Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 detected at high prevalence in puppies illegally introduced in North Eastern Italy and compared them with those circulating in wild carnivores from the same area. We found evidence of a wide diversity of canine parvoviruses (CPV-2) belonging to different antigenic types in illegally imported pups. In wildlife, we found a high circulation of feline parvovirus (FPV) in golden jackals and badgers, whereas CPV-2 was observed in one wolf only. Although supporting a possible spillover event, the low representation of wolf samples in the present study prevented us from inferring the origin, prevalence and viral diversity of the viruses circulating in this species. Therefore, we suggest performing more thorough investigations before excluding endemic CPV-2 circulation in this species.
Keywords: CPV-2; FPV; companion animals; illegal trade; spillover; wildlife.