Where did the Parvovirus originate?
Canine Parvovirus (CPV) was first observed in 1978, and is considered a completely new pathogen for dogs. No conclusive origin of CPV is known, but it is postulated that CPV arose by natural genetic mutations of the feline panleukopenia virus (FPLV). CPV and FPLV are more than 98% similar in nucleotide and amino acid sequence, but they can be easily be distinguished from each other based on biological properties. These biological differences translate into very minor genetic differences, however, as analysis has shown that even a difference as significant as the canine host range is determined by a three or four sequence difference in the viral protein gene. CPV is an important example of virus shift in host range and is being studied as a possible model for how new viruses originate.
