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Objectives: To investigate the benefit of supplementing amoxicillin-clavulanic acid therapy with metronidazole in dogs presenting to a primary care veterinary practice with severe haemorrhagic diarrhoea., Materials and Methods: Prospective randomised blinded trial on dogs presenting with haemorrhagic diarrhoea of less than 3 days duration to a primary care veterinary hospital and also requiring intravenous fluid therapy. Cases were randomised to receive either metronidazole or saline, in addition to standard supportive therapy consisting of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, intravenous fluid therapy, buprenorphine and omeprazole. Treatment efficacy was measured by duration of hospitalisation and daily scoring of disease severity., Results: Thirty-four cases successfully completed the trial. There was no significant difference in hospitalisation time between treatment groups (mean for dogs receiving metronidazole was 29.6 hours and for controls was 26.3 hours) nor in daily clinical scores., Clinical Significance: This study strongly suggests that addition of metronidazole is not an essential addition to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid therapy for treatment of severe cases of haemorrhagic diarrhoea in dogs., (© 2018 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.)

A number of novel viruses have been associated with canine gastroenteritis in recent years, from viral families as diverse as Caliciviridae and Picornaviridae to Parvoviridae and Circoviridae. The ability of many of these viruses to cause disease is uncertain, but epidemiological studies are continually adding to our knowledge of these potential pathogens. This review presents a summary of the latest research and current understanding of novel viruses associated with canine gastroenteritis., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotypes 3 and 4 are zoonotic pathogens, with pigs predominantly implicated in disease transmission. The rapid rise in human cases in developed countries over the past decade indicates a change in epidemiology of HEV, and it has been suggested that additional animal species may be involved in transmission of infection. Multiple studies have identified contact with dogs as a risk factor for HEV infection in industrialised nations, and a low seroprevalence to HEV has previously been reported in dogs in low-income countries. In this study we aimed to evaluate the possibility that dogs are susceptible to HEV, and determine the frequency with which this occurs. Serum samples from UK dogs with and without hepatitis were screened for HEV-specific antibodies, and canine liver and stool samples were analysed by qPCR for the presence of HEV RNA. We describe evidence to show HEV infection occurs at low levels in dogs in the UK, but the strain of origin is undetermined. The low seroprevalence level of HEV in dogs implies the risk of zoonotic disease transmission is likely to be limited, but further investigations will be required to determine if HEV-infected dogs can transmit HEV to man.

Astroviruses are a common cause of gastroenteritis in children worldwide. These viruses can also cause infection in a range of domestic and wild animal species. Canine astrovirus (CaAstV) was first identified in the USA, and has since been reported in dogs from Europe, the Far East and South America. We sought to determine whether CaAstV is circulating in the UK dog population, and to characterise any identified strains. Stool samples were collected from pet dogs in the UK with and without gastroenteritis, and samples were screened for CaAstV by qPCR. Four CaAstV positive samples were identified from dogs with gastroenteritis (4/67, 6.0%), whereas no samples from healthy dogs were positive (p<0.001). Sequencing of the capsid sequences from the four CaAstV strains found significant genetic heterogeneity, with only 80% amino acid identity between strains. The full genome sequence of two UK CaAstV strains was then determined, confirming that CaAstV conforms to the classic genome organisation of other astroviruses with ORF1a and ORF1b separated by a frameshift and ORF2 encoding the capsid protein. This is the first report describing the circulation of CaAstV in UK dogs with clinical signs of gastroenteritis, and the first description of the full-length genomes of two CaAstV strains., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)