A fatal viral disease of dogs and other carnivores, with a worldwide distribution. Canine distemper virus has a wide host range; most terrestrial carnivores are susceptible to natural canine distemper virus infection. All animals in the families Canidae (for example, dog, dingo, fox, coyote, wolf, jackal), Mustelidae (for example, weasel, ferret, mink, skunk, badger, stoat, marten, otter), and Procyonidae (for example, kinkajou, coati, bassariscus, raccoon, panda) may succumb to canine distemper virus infection. Members of other Carnivora families, including domestic cats and swine, may become subclinically infected. The virus has also been isolated from large cats (lions, tigers, leopards) that have died in zoological parks in North America, from wild lions in the Serengeti National Park (Tanzania), and from wild javelinas (collared peccaries).