Canine parvovirus: environmental effects on infectivity.

Effects of various environments on the infectivity of canine parvovirus-2 (CPV-2) were studied. When CPV-2 was subjected to several controlled indoor environments, the virus remained infective at approximate initial inoculation amount (median tissue culture infective dose [TCID50] = 10(5.5)/ml) for 12 months at temperatures less than -20 C, decreased to TCID50 of 10(2.3)/ml by 12 months at 4 C, and had a TCID50 of less than 10(1)/ml at room temperature (20 C) or higher in less than 2 months. The CPV-2 subjected to outdoor environments was not infective beyond 5 months, except that kept in areas protected from sunlight and drying conditions. The virus surviving in the outdoor environments was not infective for study dogs, whereas the virus maintained at less than 20 C was.