Distemper virus in Baikal seals

Osterhaus, Albert D. M. E.; Groen, Jan; Uytdehaag, Fons G. C. M.; Visser, Ilona; Bildt, Marco van de; Bergman, Åke; Klingeborn, B.

doi:10.1038/338209b0

Cited by 86 publications

(42 citation statements)

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“…For instance, canine distemper virus (CDV) was thought to be introduced into crab-eating seals in Antarctica by contacts with infected sled dogs used during an antarctic expedition (20). Similarly, CDV isolated from Lake Baikal seals (Phoca sibirica ) was genetically identical to CDV present in domestic dogs in Siberia (21) suggesting that the seal die-off was caused by direct or indirect contacts with domestic dogs. A closely related morbillivirus--phocine distemper virus (PDV)--that previously had not been recognized, was identified as the cause of another mass mortality that occurred in the late 1980s among harbor seals (Phoca vitulina ) and grey seals (Halichoris gryphus ) inhabiting the coastal waters of northwestern Europe (22).…”

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Emerging Marine Diseases--Climate Links and Anthropogenic Factors

Harvell

Kim

Burkholder

et al. 1999

Science

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Mass mortalities due to disease outbreaks have recently affected major taxa in the oceans. For closely monitored groups like corals and marine mammals, reports of the frequency of epidemics and the number of new diseases have increased recently. A dramatic global increase in the severity of coral bleaching in 1997-98 is coincident with high El Niño temperatures. Such climate-mediated, physiological stresses may compromise host resistance and increase frequency of opportunistic diseases. Where documented, new diseases typically have emerged through host or range shifts of known pathogens. Both climate and human activities may have also accelerated global transport of species, bringing together pathogens and previously unexposed host populations. The oceans harbor enormous biodiversity by terrestrial terms (1), much of which is still poorly described taxonomically. Even less well known are the dynamics of intermittent, ephemeral, threshold phenomena such as disease outbreaks. Despite decades of intense study of the biological agents structuring natural communities, the ecological and evolutionary impact of diseases in the ocean remains unknown, even when these diseases affect economically and ecologically important species. The paucity of baseline and epidemiological information on normal disease levels in the ocean challenges our ability to assess the novelty of a recent spate of disease outbreaks and to determine the relative importance of increased pathogen transmission versus decreased host resistance in facilitating the outbreaks. Our objectives here are to review the prevalence of diseases of marine taxa to evaluate whether it can be concluded that there has been a recent increase. We also assess the contributing roles of human activity and global climate, and evaluate the role of the oceans as incubators and conveyors of human disease agents.

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Emerging Marine Diseases--Climate Links and Anthropogenic Factors

Harvell

Kim

Burkholder

et al. 1999

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“…Phocid distemper virus type 2 (PDV-2) caused an epizootic among Baikal seals (Phoca sibirica) in Siberia that started in 1987 (Grachev et al, 1989;Osterhaus et al, 1989), and phocid distemper virus type 1 (PDV-1) caused an epizootic among harbour seals (Phoea vitulina) in north-west…”

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Fusion protein gene nucleotide sequence similarities, shared antigenic sites and phylogenetic analysis suggest that phocid distemper virus type 2 and canine distemper virus belong to the same virus entity

Visser

Heijden

Bildt

et al. 1993

Journal of General Virology

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Nucleotide sequencing of the fusion protein (F) gene of phocid distemper virus-2 (PDV-2), recently isolated from Baikal seals (Phoea sibiriea), revealed an open reading frame (nucleotides 84 to 2075) with two potential in-frame ATG translation initiation codons. We suggest that the second in-frame ATG triplet at positions 264 to 266 initiates the translation, resulting in a protein of 537 amino acid residues with a calculated M r of 63 035. The putative F1/F2 cleavage site, located approximately 100 amino acid residues from the N terminus, is identical to those of the F proteins of phocid distemper virus-1 (PDV-1) isolated from European harbour seals (Phoea vitulina) and of canine distemper virus (CDV). A full scale comparison of morbillivirus F genes reveals that the conserved F0 extracellular protein-encoding region contains a large number of non-expressed mutations, suggesting that this part of the protein is under strong functional constraints. Phylogenetic analysis of morbillivirus F gene nucleotide sequences revealed a closer evolutionary relationship between PDV-2 and CDV than between PDV-1 and PDV-2. These data were supported by cross-reactivity patterns of PDV-2 and CDV obtained with monoclonal antibodies to structural proteins of PDV-1 and CDV, and suggest that PDV-2 is a strain of CDV, resulting from a trans-species infection.

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“…3,7 Eradication of CDV is considered impossible because of the virus's wide host range, which includes terrestrial carnivores and marine mammals. 1,3,8,14,17,19 Because of its pantropic nature, neurologic, respiratory, and integumentary disorders are among the many presentations of canine distemper infection. 21 Accurate diagnostic assays for CDV are of paramount importance considering its global distribution, its broad host range, its myriad of clinical presentations, its history of mass mortality events, 3,7,8,17 and the availability of vaccines that may curtail local epizootics.…”

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Development of a Semi-Nested Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for the Retrospective Diagnosis of Canine Distemper Virus Infection

et al. 2002

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Abstract. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from 14 dogs were used to test the utility of a newly developed semi-nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for canine distemper virus (CDV). The results from this new test were compared with those of histopathologic examination, fluorescent antibody detection (FA), and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The semi-nested RT-PCR protocol was used to detect CDV RNA in 9 of the 10 cases that were positive by at least 1 of the immunologic (FA and IHC) methods. Sequence data indicated that the amplified strains of CDV are more closely related to a naturally occurring strain than to a vaccine strain. Thus, the semi-nested RT-PCR assay is a useful diagnostic method applicable to the retrospective diagnosis of CDV infection. Sequence determination may yield molecular epidemiologic information regarding vaccine efficacy.Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a member of the genus Morbillivirus, family Paramyxoviridae, which are negative-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. 3 Canine distemper virus is a highly contagious pathogen with a worldwide distribution. 3,7 Eradication of CDV is considered impossible because of the virus's wide host range, which includes terrestrial carnivores and marine mammals. 1,3,8,14,17,19 Because of its pantropic nature, neurologic, respiratory, and integumentary disorders are among the many presentations of canine distemper infection. 21 Accurate diagnostic assays for CDV are of paramount importance considering its global distribution, its broad host range, its myriad of clinical presentations, its history of mass mortality events, 3,7,8,17 and the availability of vaccines that may curtail local epizootics. 4 There are currently several techniques that can be used to test for CDV infection in dogs, including immunofluorescence, 5,12 immunohistochemistry, 11,15 and histopathologic analysis. 15,21 However, each of these tests has limitations; immunofluorescence can only be performed on fresh-frozen tissue, immunohistochemistry is dependent on specific antibody-fixation parameters, and histopathology is not specific and requires a confirmatory test. Furthermore, none of these tests allow for genetic analysis. Consequently, the use of multiple tests may be the best diagnostic strategy, and it is important to develop new diagnostic assays that allow retrospective genetic analysis and maintain or improve detection limits. Modern infectious disease diagnostic innovations include the development of nucleic acid-based assays, 6,9,16,18 which amplify pathogen-specific nucleic acid, permitting the detection of fewer organisms and thereby increasing the probability of detecting the agent. Previous studies have shown that CDV RNA can be reverse transcribed and then amplified from whole blood, serum, cerebrospinal fluid, and formalinfixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. 6,18 The action of formalin results in chemical modifications to RNA that tend to limit the size of transcribable nucleic acid fragments. 10 To compensate for the ...

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Distemper virus in Baikal seals

Cited by 86 publications

References 7 publications

Emerging Marine Diseases--Climate Links and Anthropogenic Factors

Emerging Marine Diseases--Climate Links and Anthropogenic Factors

Fusion protein gene nucleotide sequence similarities, shared antigenic sites and phylogenetic analysis suggest that phocid distemper virus type 2 and canine distemper virus belong to the same virus entity

Development of a Semi-Nested Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for the Retrospective Diagnosis of Canine Distemper Virus Infection

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