Serological Evidence of Canine Herpesvirus-1 in Dogs of Kerman City, Southeast of Iran

Canine Herpes Virus-1 (CHV-1) is an alphaherpesvirus which causes fetal and neonatal death as well as fertility problems in dogs. The virus is presumed to be enzootic in dogs all over the world but no information was found about the seroprevalence of CHV-1 from middle-east countries. Therefore, the present study was aimed to determine the seroprevalence of CHV-1 among dogs in Kerman (Southeast of Iran). Blood samples were taken from 47 privately owned and 35 kenneled dogs, respectively. The entire sampled dogs were apparently healthy. Indirect Immuno Fluroscence Antibody (TEA) assay was used to detect antibodies against CHV-1 in all sera. The overall CHV-1 seroprevalence was estimated 20.7% which was 22.9 and 19.1% for kenneled and owned dogs, respectively. Sex, parity and raising status (owned or kennels) did not differ significantly between seropositive and seronegative dogs. However, the infection rate was significantly higher in dogs >3 in compare with younger groups (15.9% vs. 4.8%, p <= 0.05). In conclusion, this study revealed that CHV-1 could be considered endemic in Iran and more epidemiological researches are needed to identify the geographical distribution of diseases in Iran.