Characterization of minute virus of canines (MVC) and its pathogenicity for pups.

Minute virus of canines (MVC, canine parvovirus-1), originally isolated in 1970 from the feces of normal dogs, was compared with canine parvovirus type-2 (CPV-2). The two viruses, which differ in their host cell ranges and spectra of hemagglutination, also were found distinct in their antigenic and genomic properties. We demonstrated that the MVC replicates in dogs and is capable of producing pathologic changes that were most prominent in oronasally-exposed neonatal pups. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions were most prominent in the thymus and lymph nodes; minor changes were found in the duodenal crypts. The MVC strain used had been passaged 13 times in cell cultures and it may not represent the true virulence of naturally occurring virus.