Canine viral infections

The widespread practice of routine vaccination has greatly reduced the inci dence of morbidity and mortality secondary to viral infection in the domest ic canine population. Several viral infections of dogs may be implicated in both acute and chronic multisystemic disease processes, and the ocular man ifestations associated with certain viral infections may be inconspicuous o r profound. Susceptible animals include neonatal puppies with immature immu ne systems and immunocompromised adults that fail to mount an appropriate i mmune response to viral challenge. Ocular tissues can be damaged directly b y intracellular viral replication or by the inflammatory effects of the ass ociated cell-mediated or humoral immune response to viral infection. Additi onally, the eye can be affected by adverse immunologic responses that occur with some modified live viral vaccine products.