Masters Dissertation
Canine parvovirus emerged as a viral pathogen of dogs in the late 1970s responsible for a
severe global panzootic in dogs of all ages, characterized by haemorrhagic enteritis and
myocarditis. The virus has evolved rapidly which has led to three antigenic variants:
CPV-2a, CPV-2b and CPV-2c, replacing the original antigenic type (CPV-2). There is no
information on the CPV -2 variants circulating in Tanzania, despite its worldwide
distribution. Despite the canine parvovirus vaccine being one of the cores strategies of
control, the virus is still widespread in the canine population. The aim of the present
study was to detect canine parvovirus (CPV) from fecal samples of domestic dogs, in
Morogoro and Arusha regions of Tanzania. This study was done in both vaccinated and
unvaccinated dogs presented to SUA veterinary hospital with gastroenteritis. Rectal swab
samples (n = 143) were collected from dogs in Morogoro and Arusha regions in 2020-
2021. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting VP2 gene was used to detect canine
parvovirus. Among the 143 samples, 15 were found positive by PCR. Five of the positive
PCR products were sequenced. Sequence analysis comparison showed nucleotide
identities of 99.53–100% among our CPV-2 isolates. The VP2 gene partial sequences
revealed the presence of CPV-2b variant. Phylogenetic analysis of VP2 genes revealed
that the CPV-2b variant clustered into two small evolutionary branch and shared the
identical branch with two CPV-2b isolates from China and one isolate from South Korea.
This study represents the first CPV molecular characterization conducted in Arusha and
Morogoro regions of Tanzania.