Kennel cough complex: Confirmation and analysis of the outbreak in Japan.

In the winter of 1985, an outbreak of the respiratory disease of dogs occurred in one kennel in Tokyo area. The common clinical signs were depression, anorexia, nasal discharge and mild to severe dry cough. At necropsy of the dogs with severe clinical signs, the pathologic changes were confined only to the respiratory system especially lungs. Canine distemper virus was not considered as the causative agent, however, two different viruses were recovered from 6 of 33 dogs, and they were identified as canine adenovirus-2 (CAV-2) and canine parainfluenza virus. They were present either alone or in combination. Bordetella bronchiseptica was also recovered in pure culture or in combination with other bacteria regarded as normal flora of the dogs. Serologically, CAV-2 was considered as the principal causative agent in the outbreak, even if most infection was silent and the association of opportunistic bacteria was necessary to show the clinical signs. It appeared that the outbreak was "Kennel cough complex", which was confirmed and analyzed for the first time in Japan.