Isolation of a calicivirus antigenically related to feline caliciviruses from feces of a dog with diarrhea.

A CPE-producing agent was recovered in feline cell cultures from feces of a male dog suffering from intermittent watery diarrhea. Antigenic analysis of this isolate, Sapporo/283, was performed using the plaque reduction neutralization and complement fixation assays and it was neutralized by antisera against feline calicivirus (FCV) but not against canine calicivirus (CaCV). Likewise, it showed common CF antigenicity with the other FCV strains included in the experiments. These findings revealed that the isolate was more closely related antigenically to FCV than CaCV, indicating the possibility of interspecies transmission. It was also suggested that the isolate was a respiratory type calicivirus. Epizootiological results suggested, however, that FCV seldom infects dogs under natural condition.