Canine distemper virus
The canine distemper virus or canine distemper virus ( CDV canine distemper virus ) is an enveloped virus of the family Paramyxoviridae. It is the causative agent of canine distemper, a highly contagious infection in canids ( Canoidea ). Infections in large cats ( Pantherinae ) have been reported occasionally. The CDV causes a multisystemic, very variable disease over a bound leukocytes viremia. A CNS involvement is frequent.
The CDV was first isolated in 1905 by Henri Carré. It is closely related with the measles virus and rinderpest virus. The virions of CDV are irregularly shaped and about 150-250 nm in size; filamentous particles having a length of several hundreds of nanometers are also possible. The folded, helical capsid is 18 nm in diameter and 600-800 nm in size long. It includes a linear RNA strand of negative polarity, which is about 15.9 kb in length. The CDV does unlike other paramyxoviruses as a member of the genus Morbillivirus no neuraminidase, it also shows no hemagglutinin activity.
There is evidence for an involvement of CDV in the etiology of Osteitis deformans of man.