Clinical and inflammatory response to antiviral treatments in dogs with parvoviral enteritis.

Background: Canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE) is a fatal disease worldwide. The treatment

of CPE is based mainly on supportive and symptomatic treatment. Antiviral addition to the

treatment may result in a higher survival.

Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of antiviral treatments with a standardized

treatment (ST) on the clinical and inflammatory response of dogs with naturally occurring CPE.

Methods: Twenty-eight dogs with CPE caused by canine parvovirus type 2 were divided

randomly into treatment groups. The ST group received fluid, antibiotic, antiemetic,

and deworming treatments. The antiviral treatment groups received the same ST with an

additional antiviral drug, recombinant feline interferon omega (rFeIFN-ω), oseltamivir

(OSEL) or famciclovir (FAM).

Results: Compared to the healthy control, the tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β,

interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ, haptoglobin, and C-reactive protein values were high (p < 0.05)

on day zero. At presentation, mild lymphopenia, neutropenia, and a high neutrophil to

lymphocyte (LYM) ratio (NLR) were also observed. Adding rFeIFN-ω to the ST produced the

best improvement in the clinical score with a decreased NLR, while leucocytes remained low

and inflammatory markers stayed high on day three. The survival rates of the groups were

85.7% in ST+IFN, 71.4% in ST+OSEL, 71.4% in ST+FAM, and 57.1% in ST groups on day seven.

Conclusions: Antiviral drugs may be valuable in treating CPE to improve the clinical signs

and survival. In addition, the decrease in NLR in favor of LYM may be an indicator of the early

prognosis before the improvement of leukocytes, cytokines, and acute phase proteins in CPE.

Keywords: Acute-phase proteins; canine parvovirus; cytokines; leukocyte