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In August 2008, forty dogs out of 400 developed oral warts in a breeding farm in Korea. Canine oral papilloma infection is a common disease in dogs. However, there has been no report of an outbreak of canine oral papillomavirus (COPV) in a group of dogs or in dog breeding farms in Korea, and the genetic analysis of COPV in Korea has yet to be performed. This study diagnosed canine oral papilloma from the oral samples of these dogs based on histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry. Polymerase chain reaction was applied to amplify the corresponding products using preexisting primer sets for COPV and a universal human papillomavirus targeting L1 gene. Further genetic analysis of the major viral capsid gene L1 confirms the sequences of Korean COPV, which shows a close relationship to previously reported COPV. This study describes the histopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of canine oral papilloma in a group of breeding dogs in Korea and discloses the complete L1 gene sequences of Korean COPV.

In early 2007, American pet food ingredients leading to nephrotoxic renal failure of dogs and cats raised serious concerns about the safety of pet foods. Major pet food companies recalled more than 1,000 commercial pet foods in consideration of pet safety. A similar pet food-associated outbreak of nephrotoxic renal failure occurred in Asia, in late 2003 and 2004, resulting in a similar extensive pet food recall. At that time, contamination of ingredients with a nephrotoxin-producing fungus at a pet food production facility was suspected. However, toxicologic evidence to substantiate a mycotoxicosis was lacking. Moreover, the renal lesions were not typical of those reported with fungal nephrotoxins. During 2003 and 2004, 14 dogs were presented to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea, with renal failure and distinctive renal pathologic findings. Grossly, the kidneys were greenish in color with greenish uroliths in the renal pelvis or bladder. Histologically, characteristic crystals with pinwheel radiating striations were present in distal tubular segments. Toxicologic analysis identified melamine, cyanuric acid, and ammelide in deparaffinized formalin-fixed kidney samples.