Examination of canine herpesvirus-1 in dogs by serological, molecular, and pathological methods

In this study, it was aimed to examine Canine Herpesvirus-1 (CHV-1) with different diagnostic methods and investigate the pathological changes in positive samples. For this purpose, 100 dog uteruses of different ages and breeds, were removed by ovariohysterectomy and their blood samples were used as the study material. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT) for serological diagnosis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for molecular diagnosis, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) staining for immunopathological diagnosis were performed on the samples. Additionally, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was performed to examine the histopathological changes in the CHV-1-positive samples. An antibody presence rate of 37% was detected by both ELISA and IFAT tests. The immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent staining results revealed the presence of antigens at rates of 33% and 35%, respectively. No positivity was recorded in any of the samples by the PCR method. In the histopathological examinations of the CHV-1-positive uterus samples, it was observed that 12 had catarrhal endometritis, 10 had purulent endometritis, 8 had chronic nonpurulent endometritis and 7 were healthy. No lesions were found in the other 63 samples that were not CHV-1 positive. In conclusion, it was determined that the best methods for the diagnosis of CHV-1 infection were ELISA and IFAT, followed by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical staining. The positive samples mostly showed catarrhal endometritis, and the presence of the virus was also detected in healthy tissues. In this study, the prevalence of CHV-1 in dogs was determined for the first time with a variety of diagnostic methods, and histopathological changes in naturally infected specimens were investigated.