NATURAL INFECTION OF DOGS BY INFLUENZA-C VIRUS - A SEROLOGICAL SURVEY IN SPAIN

Two seroepidemiological surveys carried out so far, one in Japan, the other in France, gave a strong indication that dogs may be naturally infected by influenza C virus, considered to be exclusively human until recently. In this work, 101 serum samples were collected during winter 1989/1990 from dogs in Castilla y Leon, Spain. Sera were tested for the presence of antibodies to influenza C virus by Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI) test. Using antibody absorption by staphylococcal protein A, we demonstrated the specificity of the results. Significant HI activity was found in 56.3% of the 101 tested sera and titres ranged from 25 to 200.