Morbilliviral Disease in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the 1987-1988 Epizootic

Lipscomb, T. P.; Schulman, F. Y.; Moffett, D.; Kennedy, S.

doi:10.7589/0090-3558-30.4.567

Cited by 148 publications

(129 citation statements)

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“…Similar bacterial isolates were obtained from other stranded cetaceans along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts (8). Geraci (13) and from a stranded bortlenose dolphin in the Gulf of Mexico (14).…”

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confidence: 53%

Decreased Lymphocyte Responses in Free-Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Are Associated with Increased Concentrations of PCBs and DDT in Peripheral Blood

Lahvis¹,

Wells²,

Kuehl³

et al. 1995

Environmental Health Perspectives

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Since 1987, large-scale mortalities of dolphins have been reported along the Atlantic coast of North America, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Mediterranean Sea. Autopsied bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, which were collected from the large-scale mortality along the Atlantic coast in 1987 to 1988, exhibited opportunistic infections indicative of immune dysfunction. Further, these animals had high levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as PCBs and DDT, that can suppress immune functions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between chemical contaminant exposure and immune response in free-ranging dolphins. In June of 1991, peripheral blood was obtained from members of a bottlenose dolphin population that resides along the west coast of Florida. Peripheral blood lymphocyte responses to Concanavalin A (Con A) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were determined in vitro and compared by regression analysis with contaminant concentrations in whole blood from a small subset of these animals (n= 5). These data indicate that a reduced immune response in these bottlenose dolphins was correlated with increasing whole blood concentrations of several contaminants. Specifically, inverse correlations were found between Con A-induced lymphocyte proliferation and tetrachlorinated to octachlorinated biphenyls (r2 values ranged from 0.70 to 0.87). (1995)

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mentioning

confidence: 53%

Decreased Lymphocyte Responses in Free-Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Are Associated with Increased Concentrations of PCBs and DDT in Peripheral Blood

Lahvis¹,

Wells²,

Kuehl³

et al. 1995

Environmental Health Perspectives

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“…Porpoise and dolphin morbilliviruses are antigenically and genetically similar and are now generally considered strains of the same viral species, cetacean morbillivirus (Kennedy-Stoskopf, 2001). Although precise mortality rates are unknown for epizootics caused by these viruses, they have caused large-scale epizootics in bottlenose dolphins in the Western Atlantic (Lipscomb et al, 1994a) and the Gulf of Mexico (Lipscomb et al, 1996a), and in striped dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea (Forcada et al, 1994). Antibodies to morbilliviruses have been found in free-ranging common dolphins in the northeastern Pacific Ocean (Reidarson et al, 1998b), suggesting that these viruses may occur within the range of the southern resident killer whale population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating potential infectious disease threats for southern resident killer whales, Orcinus orca: a model for endangered species

Gaydos

Balcomb

Osborne

et al. 2004

Biological Conservation

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Infectious diseases have the potential to play a role in the decline of threatened wildlife populations, as well as negatively affect their long-term viability, but determining which infectious agents present risks can be difficult. The southern resident killer whale, Orcinus orca, population is endangered and little is known about infectious diseases in this species. Using available reference literature, we identified 15 infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, and fungi) reported in free-ranging and captive killer whales, as well as 28 additional infectious agents reported in free-ranging and captive odontocete species sympatric to southern resident killer whales. Infectious agents were scored as having a high, medium, or low ability to affect fecundity or reproductive success, to cause disease in individual animals, and to cause epizootics. Marine Brucella spp., cetacean poxvirus, cetacean morbilliviruses, and herpesviruses were identified as high priority pathogens that warrant further study. Using identified pathogens to develop a standardized necropsy and disease testing protocol for southern resident killer whales and sympatric odontocetes will improve future efforts to better understand the impacts of priority and non-priority infectious agents on southern resident killer whales. This model can be used to evaluate potential infectious disease risks in other threatened wildlife populations. #

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“…Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) is a highly contagious paramyxovirus that is well-recognized to cause dolphin die offs in the United States, including those that occurred along the US east coast (in 1987−1988 and 2013−2015) and the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) in 1993−1994 (Lipscomb et al 1994, Krafft et al 1995, Van Bressem et al 2014. DMV is most closely related to the measles, rinderpest, and peste des petits ruminants viruses (Haffar et al 1999, Saliki et al 2002.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since morbillivirus infection was a common cause of previous dolphin die-offs along the US coast, it was investigated as a potential cause of the northern GoM UME (Litz et al 2014, Venn-Watson et al 2015. During previous morbillivirus-associated dolphin die-offs in the USA, the presence of virus detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays had positive detection rates of 61 and 97% in dolphins tested during the 1987the −1988the and 2013the midAtlantic and 1993the −1994 GoM mortality events (Krafft et al 1995, Schulman et al 1997, Litz et al 2014. Previously reported morbillivirus seropositivity in free-ranging and stranded cetacean populations in the GoM during non-UME periods have ranged from 15 to 24%, depending upon the species and stock tested (Duignan et al 1996, Rowles et al 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of morbillivirus exposure in cetaceans from the northern Gulf of Mexico 2010-2014

Fauquier

Litz

Sánchez³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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The potential role of morbillivirus was evaluated in the deaths of >1100 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus and other small cetaceans that stranded from February 2010 through July 2014, during the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) unusual mortality event (UME). Morbillivirus analysis was carried out on 142 live or freshly dead cetaceans and results were combined with samples from 102 live, free-ranging bottlenose dolphins sampled during capture-release health assessments conducted from 2011 to 2014. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for morbillivirus showed that 9.9% (14/142) of the stranded cetaceans and 1% (1/83) of the free-ranging live dolphins were positive for dolphin morbilliviral (DMV) RNA. In contrast, previous DMV dolphin die-offs had DMV detectable by PCR in 61 to 97% of animals tested. Histologic findings consistent with morbillivirus infection, including lymphoid depletion, bronchointerstitial pneumonia, syncytial cell formation, or meningoencephalitis, were found in 6.6% (9/136) of the cetaceans that underwent histologic examinations. Serological analysis using a virus neutralization assay found that 29% (5/17) of live stranded and 23% (23/102) of live free-ranging bottlenose dolphins had titers of 64 or greater for cetacean morbillivirus, indicating prior but not necessarily recent exposure to morbillivirus. Current findings suggest that DMV infection, although present in the northern GoM, was sporadic and occurred at low levels and therefore was not the primary cause of the northern GoM UME. Confirmation of DMV infections and existing DMV titers demonstrate continued exposure to morbillivirus among northern GoM cetaceans since the first detection of this virus in the early 1990s.

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Morbilliviral Disease in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the 1987-1988 Epizootic

Abstract: Lungs and lymph nodes of 79 Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that died from 6 August 1987 to 16 April 1988 along the Atlantic coasts of New Jersey, Virginia, and

Cited by 148 publications

References 12 publications

Decreased Lymphocyte Responses in Free-Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Are Associated with Increased Concentrations of PCBs and DDT in Peripheral Blood

Decreased Lymphocyte Responses in Free-Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Are Associated with Increased Concentrations of PCBs and DDT in Peripheral Blood

Evaluating potential infectious disease threats for southern resident killer whales, Orcinus orca: a model for endangered species

Evaluation of morbillivirus exposure in cetaceans from the northern Gulf of Mexico 2010-2014

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