A case of fatal neonatal infection with canine herpesvirus

Abstract

Two Dalmation puppies from Florida, 9 and 11 days of age, presented for post mortem examination. The pups were from a litter of 11 in which four pups had died at 2 and 6 days of age. The owner reported that before death, all of the pups cried, failed to nurse, and had audible lung congestion. The pups died within a few hours of the onset of clinical signs. At presentation, several differential diagnoses were considered, including viral and bacterial etiologies, as well as maternal factors such as neglect. Gross examination revealed classic hemorrhages within multiple organ systems, including the kidney, which are typical of canine herpesvirus. Histologic lesions characterized by scattered, random necrosis with intranuclear inclusions were noted in multiple organ systems and confirmed the clinical diagnoses of canine herpesvirus. Canine herpesvirus (CHV) is a common infectious cause of neonatal death among pups approximately 1-3 weeks of age. The exposure of pups to virus during whelping, or shortly thereafter, leads to a systemic infection and necrosis resulting in a high mortality rate. Depression, anorexia, incessant crying, abdominal pain, rapid shallow breathing, and hypothermia develop quickly and proceed to death within 18-24 hours of the onset of clinical signs. The original disease, described by Carmichael et al at Cornell in 1965, has changed little with regard to observable pathologic lesions. The clinical signs, time frame, and pathologic lesions presented in this case report are classic with respect to canine herpesvirus and afford the clinician an opportunity to make a confident diagnosis after a brief necropsy.