Canine distemper virus can infect various wild dog species, and mustelids, particularly ferrets and possibly including Eurasian badgers.

Canine distemper virus can also infect cats. In domestic cats infection is usually asymptomatic. But clinical disease, mainly encephalitis, has been seen in exotic cat species kept in zoological collections, and distemper (or a similar virus) recently caused an epizootic in wild lions in the Serengeti National Park. In addition, there are several reports of CDV as a cause of encephalitis in captive primates.

The so-called 'distemper' viruses of seals and various cetaceans are not canine distemper but related morbilliviruses.



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