Fatal Systemic Morbillivirus Infection in Bottlenose Dolphin, Canary Islands, Spain

Sierra, Eva; Zucca, Daniele; Arbelo, Manuel; García‐Álvarez, Natalia; Andrada, M.; Déniz, S.; Fernández, Antonio

doi:10.3201/eid2002.131463

Cited by 25 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…The information presented here increases the number of morbillivirus-positive cases within the Canarian Archipelago from two (56,57) to eight cases. Regarding HV, the phylogenetic analysis performed in the current study provides valuable information about a possible pathogenic branch of alphaherpesviruses in cetaceans that might be responsible for some fatal cases worldwide.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retrospective Study of Etiologic Agents Associated with Nonsuppurative Meningoencephalitis in Stranded Cetaceans in the Canary Islands

et al. 2014

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c Nineteen natural cases of etiologically undetermined encephalitides in free-ranging cetaceans were studied retrospectively. Histological examination of the brains revealed variable degrees of nonsuppurative encephalitis or meningoencephalitis, characterized predominantly by perivascular lymphohistiocytic infiltrates. A PCR assay was used on brain and other available tissues to detect the presence of morbillivirus, herpesvirus, West Nile virus, Toxoplasma gondii, and Brucella spp. In addition, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was performed on selected tissues to determine the presence of morbilliviral antigens. Six animals (5 striped dolphins and 1 common dolphin) showed IHC and/or molecular evidence of morbilliviral antigens and/or genomes, mainly in brain tissue. Conventional nested PCR detected herpesviral DNA in brain tissue samples from two striped dolphins. There was no evidence of West Nile virus, T. gondii, or Brucella spp. in any of the brain tissue samples examined. The information presented here increases the number of confirmed morbillivirus-positive cases within the Canarian archipelago from two previously reported cases to eight. Furthermore, a new nested-PCR method for the detection of morbillivirus is described here. Regarding herpesvirus, the phylogenetic analysis performed in the current study provides valuable information about a possible pathogenic branch of cetacean alphaherpesviruses that might be responsible for some fatal cases worldwide.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retrospective Study of Etiologic Agents Associated with Nonsuppurative Meningoencephalitis in Stranded Cetaceans in the Canary Islands

et al. 2014

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“…Dolphins and seals are vulnerable to viral infection, with serious pandemics of influenza virus (Cox and Subbarao, 2000;Groth et al, 2014), poxvirus (Fiorito et al, 2015) and morbillivirus (Sierra et al, 2014(Sierra et al, , 2016. Although no pandemics have been reported for large whales, as right whales undertake large scale migrations they could be the source of, and vectors for, potentially serious zoonoses (Bogomolni et al, 2008).…”

Section: Methods For Assessing Factors Affecting Right Whale Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Directions in Eubalaena spp.: Comparative Research to Inform Conservation

et al. 2019

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All three extant right whales [Eubalaena australis (Southern; SRW), glacialis (North Atlantic; NARW), and japonica (North Pacific; NPRW)] were heavily exploited, and the status of the two northern hemisphere species remains precarious. Recently, limited gains made by the NARW have been reversed and urgent changes to management approaches are needed if extinction is to be averted. By contrast, some SRW populations are recovering. Given their close phylogenetic relationship, morphological, demographic, and ecological similarities, the contrasting recovery rates between populations and species provide an opportunity to apply a comparative approach to inform the differences in recovery as follows. (1) Recovery: All right whale species were internationally protected in 1931, but NARW, eastern NPRW and some SRW populations have barely recovered from whaling, while others are doing so at maximal rates. Are these differences a legacy of extreme depletion (e.g., loss of genetic diversity and cultural knowledge) or primarily due to anthropogenic factors (e.g., high mortality from ship strike and fisheries entanglement)? If modern anthropogenic threats are not affecting remote SRW populations, can these serve as baseline populations for comparison with NARW and NPRW? (2) Linking individuals to population-level responses: In wild mammals, strong links exist between reproductive indices and environmental conditions within the context of life-history strategies. Individual identification of whales provides the ability to track survival, reproduction and other demographic parameters, and their population-level consequences, providing the tools with which to uncover these links. Robust life-history analyses are now available for NARW and several SRW populations, linking demography with environmental conditions, providing the potential for teasing out important influencing factors. (3) Adapting to shifting resources: Recent reproductive declines in NARW appear linked to changing food resources. While we know some large-scale movement patterns for NARW and a few SRW populations, we know little of mesoscale movements. For NPRW and some SRW populations, even broad-scale movements are poorly understood. In the face of climate change, can methodological advances help identify Eubalaena distributional and migratory responses? (4) Emergent diseases and the vulnerability of populations under stress: Marine mammals are vulnerable to infectious diseases,

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“…Immunohistochemistry (IHC) has greatly enhanced the sensitivity and specificity of histopathological diagnosis by enabling the detection of morbillivirus antigen in cases where tissue preservation is poor or where classical lesions have been obscured by opportunistic pathogens. IHC studies have been conducted by using a commercially available MoAb for CDV N protein [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 33 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ], a MoAb for PDV hemagglutinin [ 2 , 53 , 57 ], or a rabbit polyclonal antiserum to rinderpest virus [ 70 ]. Together with RT-PCR, these techniques recently permitted the identification of morbillivirus outbreaks in T. truncatus and T. aduncus from South Australia in 2013 [ 51 ], and in T. truncatus from the NW Atlantic, ongoing since 2013 [ 71 ].…”

Section: Diagnosismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, an IHC and RT-PCR retrospective survey showed that DMV caused chronic CNS disease in S. coeruleoalba and D. delphis washed ashore in the Canary Islands in the period 2002-2011 [ 33 ]. Finally, a systemic DMV infection was observed in a T. truncatus stranded in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, in 2005 [ 69 ]. Thus, at least two strains of CeMV are circulating in cetaceans from this ocean province.…”

Section: Outbreaks Of Disease and Epidemiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cetacean Morbillivirus: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Bressem

Duignan

Banyard

et al. 2014

Viruses

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We review the molecular and epidemiological characteristics of cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) and the diagnosis and pathogenesis of associated disease, with six different strains detected in cetaceans worldwide. CeMV has caused epidemics with high mortality in odontocetes in Europe, the USA and Australia. It represents a distinct species within the Morbillivirus genus. Although most CeMV strains are phylogenetically closely related, recent data indicate that morbilliviruses recovered from Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), from Western Australia, and a Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis), from Brazil, are divergent. The signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) cell receptor for CeMV has been characterized in cetaceans. It shares higher amino acid identity with the ruminant SLAM than with the receptors of carnivores or humans, reflecting the evolutionary history of these mammalian taxa. In Delphinidae, three amino acid substitutions may result in a higher affinity for the virus. Infection is diagnosed by histology, immunohistochemistry, virus isolation, RT-PCR, and serology. Classical CeMV-associated lesions include bronchointerstitial pneumonia, encephalitis, syncytia, and lymphoid depletion associated with immunosuppression. Cetaceans that survive the acute disease may develop fatal secondary infections and chronic encephalitis. Endemically infected, gregarious odontocetes probably serve as reservoirs and vectors. Transmission likely occurs through the inhalation of aerosolized virus but mother to fetus transmission was also reported.

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Fatal Systemic Morbillivirus Infection in Bottlenose Dolphin, Canary Islands, Spain

Cited by 25 publications

References 13 publications

Retrospective Study of Etiologic Agents Associated with Nonsuppurative Meningoencephalitis in Stranded Cetaceans in the Canary Islands

Retrospective Study of Etiologic Agents Associated with Nonsuppurative Meningoencephalitis in Stranded Cetaceans in the Canary Islands

Future Directions in Eubalaena spp.: Comparative Research to Inform Conservation

Cetacean Morbillivirus: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

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