Immunity and epidemiology :
The virus is highly contagious within an urban population but this is largely controlled by vaccination.
Diagnosis (see 'Outbreak of CDV in vaccinated dogs in Finland', Vet Rec, Oct 11^th 1997, pp380- 383)
The disease may present as a series of infections which cannot be controlled by antibiotics. A suite of clinical symptoms to include conjunctivitis, bilateral nasal discharge, diarrhoea, otitis, hard pad or ataxia are very suggestive, but laboratory confirmation is not often available.
In the live animal dried smears of nasal or conjunctival epithelium or of leucocytes may show i.c. inclusion bodies, which stain positive for antigen by IF eg using mAb to nucleoprotein. At p.m.e. inclusion bodies may be seen in bronchial epithelium, lung macrophages, bladder, neurones, gitter cells. Demyelination in the cerebellar/pontine area is pathognomic.