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Meta-Analysis
. 2019 May 29;14(5):e0217594.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217594. eCollection 2019.

Molecular and serological surveys of canine distemper virus: A meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies

Vivaldo Gomes da Costa  1   2 , Marielena Vogel Saivish  2 , Roger Luiz Rodrigues  2 , Rebeca Francielle de Lima Silva  2 , Marcos Lázaro Moreli  2 , Ricardo Henrique Krüger  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Molecular and serological surveys of canine distemper virus: A meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies

Vivaldo Gomes da Costa et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Canine morbillivirus (canine distemper virus, CDV) persists as a serious threat to the health of domestic dogs and wildlife. Although studies have been conducted on the frequency and risk factors associated with CDV infection, there are no comprehensive data on the current epidemiological magnitude in the domestic dog population at regional and national levels. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study and included our results in a meta-analysis to summarize and combine available data on the frequency and potential risk factors associated with CDV infection.

Methods: For the cross-sectional study, biological samples from dogs suspected to have canine distemper (CD) were collected and screened for viral RNA. Briefly, the PRISMA protocol was used for the meta-analysis, and data analyses were performed using STATA IC 13.1 software.

Results: CDV RNA was detected in 34% (48/141) of dogs suspected to have CD. Following our meta-analysis, 53 studies were selected for a total of 11,527 dogs. Overall, the pooled frequency of CDV positivity based on molecular and serological results were 33% (95% CI: 23-43) and 46% (95% CI: 36-57), respectively. The pooled subgroup analyses of clinical signs, types of biological samples, diagnostic methods and dog lifestyle had a wide range of CDV positivity (range 8-75%). Free-ranging dogs (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.05-1.97), dogs >24 months old (OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.1-3) and unvaccinated dogs (OR: 2.92, 95% CI: 1.26-6.77) were found to be positively associated with CDV infection. In contrast, dogs <12 months old (OR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.20-0.64) and dogs with a complete anti-CDV vaccination (OR: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.05-0.59) had a negative association.

Conclusion: Considering the high frequency of CDV positivity associated with almost all the variables analyzed in dogs, it is necessary to immediately and continuously plan mitigation strategies to reduce the CDV prevalence, especially in determined endemic localities.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. PRISMA 2009 flow diagram of observational studies included in the meta-analysis.
Fig 2
Fig 2. World map with the geographical distribution of the studies.
The color intensity categories represent the number of studies included in the meta-analysis (A). The individual estimated frequency of laboratory confirmed CDV positivity in domestic dogs is shown (B). The CDV positivity is represented by the different colors and the total number of animals screened by the size of the circles.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Forest plot of the frequency of laboratory confirmed CDV in biological samples from domestic dogs.
Fig 3A shows the analysis of the subgroups of molecular, antibody and antigen surveys. Fig 3B shows the subgroup regarding the clinical signs of dogs (molecular surveys). The length of the line indicates the 95% confidence interval for each study, and the diamonds represent the pooled estimate. ID = identification of study; ES = effect size; Events = CDV POS.
Fig 4
Fig 4
Fig 4A shows the forest plot of CDV positivity according to the type of biological sample surveyed. For Fig 4B, the forest plot is related to the diagnostic method.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Forest plot showing the frequency of CDV positivity in relation to free-ranging dogs.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Forest plot of the odds ratio (OR) for CDV positivity in domestic dogs.
A = gender, male versus female; B = purebred versus mixed-breed; C = age, <12 months, 12–24 months, and >24 months; D = free-ranging dogs versus non-free-ranging dogs; E = vaccinated versus incomplete and nonvaccinated; F = coinfection, CDV versus canine parvovirus.
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Publication types

Grants and funding

This work was carried out as part of the doctoral thesis of VGC (Programa de Pós-graduação em Biotecnologia e Biodiversidade, UnB). VGC was supported by scholarships from Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAPDF) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brasil (CAPES). In addition, funding for this study was financed in part by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), FAPDF and CAPES. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.