Glutamine has been used to treat canine patients with parvoviral enteritis. However, little is known about the effect of L-alanyl-L-glutamine (Ala-Gln) supplementation in dogs with parvoviral enteritis. The objective of this study was to determine whether Ala-Gln supplementation can improve dog survival and ameliorate clinical signs without adverse effects. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 39 client-owned dogs. The dogs were randomly assigned to two groups and administered either an Ala-Gln solution (Dipeptiven, 0.4 g/kg, n = 20) or an equivalent volume of placebo (n = 19) orally twice daily. Of the 39 dogs, 17 were vaccinated (n = 9 in the Ala-Gln-treated group and n – 9 in the placebo group). All dogs received standard treatment while hospitalized. The dogs were monitored according to a clinical scoring system and evaluated diagnostically daily for 11 days. Survival rates in both groups were quantified using Kaplan‒Meier survival curves and statistically compared using the log-rank test. The total score for clinical signs did not differ between the groups, except on day 2. The survival rates differed significantly (p=0.038). Three Ala-Gln-treated dogs (15.0%) died during the study, whereas eight dogs in the placebo group died (42.1%). No adverse effects were found to be associated with Ala-Gln treatment. Oral administration of Ala-Gln improves survival in dogs with parvoviral enteritis without causing adverse effects.

Canine parvovirus type-2 (CPV-2) has been reported worldwide as the main agent associated with acute hemorrhagic enteritis, resulting in high morbidity, especially in young dogs. CPV-2 has three genetic variants, 2a, 2b, and 2c. Here, we report three cases of canine parvovirus enteritis associated with CPV-2a (2 samples) and -2c (1 sample) infections that occurred in three young dogs suffering from enteritis. Isolates from dog diarrheic fecal samples were sequenced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and identified as two types of CPV-2a and one type of CPV-2c. This work constitutes the first isolation and genetic characterization of CPV-2c in the Republic of Korea.