Viral distemper now found in porpoises

Kennedy, S.; Smyth, Joan A.; Cush, P. F.; McCullough, S J; Allan, Gordon; McQuaid, Stephen

doi:10.1038/336021a0

Cited by 131 publications

(74 citation statements)

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“…In view of the increasmg munber of terrestrial pathogens encroaching on the marine environment (Bengston et al 1991;Kennedy et al 1988b;Osterhaus et al 1988a), studies into marine mammal immunology are important in developing strategies to avert potentially catastrophic epidemics, particularly in declining or threatened populations (Domingo et al 1990;Harvell et al 1999;Kennedy et al 1988a;Osterhaus et al 1988;Osterhaus and De Vries 1988;Osterhaus 1989;Osterhaus et al 1997). The sequence information from this study raises important questions regarding immunologic diversity in this thriving species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular characterization of expressed DQA and DQB genes in the California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus )

et al. 2002

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To date, there are no published MHC sequences from the California sea lion (Zalophus califomianus), a thriving species that, by feeding high on the marine food web, could be a sentinel for disturbances in marine and coastal ecosystems. In this study, degenerate primers and RACE technology were used to amplify near-fiiUThis study was supported by grants from the Office of Naval Resources (ONR), the Marine Community Foundation, the Fogarty International Center and the US National Science Foundation (#DEB-0094919) Studies were performed jointly in the laboratories of Stott and JohnsonThe nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper have been submitted to the GenBank nucleotide sequence database and have been assigned the following accession numbers: An additional three Zaca-DQB sequences containing features compatible with pseudogenes or null alleles were also identified. Despite the identification of multiple DQA and DQB sequences, the degree of heterogeneity between them was extremely low. To confirm the limited degree of Zaca-DQ nucleotide variation between individuals, we used denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to examine putative peptide binding region sequences from the peripheral blood leukocyte-derived RNAs of 19 wild-caught California sea lions from physically distinct populations. The pattern of Zaca-DQ sequence migration was identical between individuals and independent of geographical region. This apparent Zaca-DQ sequence identity between sea lions was confirmed by direct sequencing of individual bands. In combination, these fmdings raise important questions regarding immimogenetic diversity within this thriving species, and should prompt further research into the existence of a highly polymorphic sea lion class II MHC molecule with sequence features that support traditional peptide binding fiuictions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular characterization of expressed DQA and DQB genes in the California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus )

et al. 2002

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“…16 We do not know whether these porpoises became infected from contact with seals or other species susceptible to morbillivirus infection. Also, since morbillivirus infection has not previously been reported in cetaceans, there are no data to indicate (1) the incidence of infection in porpoises, and (2) whether porpoises were the source of infection for European seals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Histopathologic and Immunocytochemical Studies of Distemper in Seals

Kennedy¹,

Smyth²,

Cush³

et al. 1989

Vet Pathol

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Abstract. Thousands of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) died in European seas during 1988. Respiratory distress and oculonasal discharge were common clinical signs. We necropsied 76 affected seals. The main necropsy finding was severe pneumonia. Microscopic lung changes were characterized by proliferation of type I1 pneumocytes, filling of alveolar lumina with serofibrinous exudate, leukocytes, and macrophages, and necrosis of bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium. Intracytoplasmic and intranuclear acidophilic inclusion bodies characteristic of morbillivirus infection were seen in bronchial and bronchiolar epithelial cells. Microscopic lesions of non-suppurative demyelinating encephalitis were seen in the brain. There was degeneration and necrosis of neurons, focal gliosis, perivascular cuffing, and patchy demyelination. Many neurons and astrocytes contained intracytoplasmic and intranuclear inclusions. Using an immunoperoxidase technique, we detected morbillivirus antigen in many tissues including lung, brain, spleen, and urinary bladder. The origin of the seal morbillivirus is unknown.A major disease epizootic killed thousands of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in European seas during 1988.The first signs were abortion and death in seals along the western coast of Denmark in April 1988. By late June the disease had spread to the coasts of The Netherlands and southern Norway. The most consistent pathologic finding in affected animals was acute pneumonia. A herpesvirus and a picornavirus were initially implicated as primary causes of the disease.*' Subsequently, it was shown that the epizootic was unrelated to these viruses, but serologic examination of convalescent seals indicated rising antibody titers to canine distemper or a closely related morbillivirus.22 In August 1988 seals in the Irish Sea became affected. We found lesions similar to canine distemper in many of these animals." The purpose of this report is to document histopathologic and immunocytochemical changes in affected seals. Materials and MethodsMeasles antiserum from a human with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis was used as primary antibody. Biotinylated goat anti-human immunoglobulin-G (IgG) (Bethesda Research Laboratories, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD) was used as second layer antibody. The other reagents used in this technique were part of a commercially available SAB kit (Histostain-SPO Kit, Zymed Laboratories, Inc., South San Francisco, CA). Reagents included in this kit were normal goat serum and streptavidin-peroxidase conjugate. All steps, unless indicated otherwise, were done at room temperature in a dark humidified chamber. Fresh Tris-saline buffer, pH 7.6, was used for each washing step.Sections were cut at 5 Fm and placed on clean glass slides coated with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as a section adhesive, deparaffinized in xylene, and placed in alcohol. Endogenous peroxidase was inhibited by transferring sections to a freshly prepared solution of 0.5% hydrogen peroxide in methanol for 30 min. After washing in tap water, sections were placed...

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“…The P-gene is a highly conserved structural protein that can be used to identify morbillivirus species in various mammals (Barrett et al 1993, Bolt et al 1995, while the N-gene that encodes the N protein is less conserved across morbillivirus species, and can be used to characterize and distinguish between different morbillivirus species and strains (Diallo et al 1994). The porpoise morbillivirus (PMV) strain was associated with several epizootics in the Atlantic Ocean in the 1980s and 1990s (Kennedy et al 1988), while dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) has caused outbreaks in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea from the 1980s to the present day (Blixenkrone-Møller et al 1994). In contrast, pilot whale morbillivirus (PWMV) has not been associated with any major outbreaks (Taubenberger et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial characterization of novel beaked whale morbillivirus in Hawaiian cetaceans

Jacob

West²,

Levine³

et al. 2016

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) is a causative factor in epizootics that have resulted in thousands of deaths throughout the Atlantic and Mediterranean since 1987, but less is known of its presence and significance in the Pacific. The first case of CeMV reported in Hawai'i was in a Longman's beaked whale that stranded in 2010. The initial CeMV sequence from this individual indicated the possibility of a novel strain. To address this, archived samples from cetaceans that stranded in Hawai'i between 1997 and 2014 were screened for CeMV. The beaked whale morbillivirus (BWMV) was detected in 15 individuals representing 12 different species (24% of Code 1 and 2 stranded cetaceans). The earliest detected case was a humpback whale that stranded in 1998. Sequence comparisons of a 2.2 kb sequence spanning the phosphoprotein (P) and nucleocapsid (N) genes strongly suggest that the BWMV represents a novel strain of CeMV present in Hawai'i and the Central Pacific. In contrast to recently reported isolates from Brazil and Australia that may represent a distinct clade, BWMV appears to be more closely related to known strains of CeMV (dolphin morbillivirus; porpoise morbillivirus; and pilot whale morbillivirus). Detection rates with repeat sampling of positive lymph nodes were between 2 and 61%, illustrating the extreme heterogeneity that can occur in affected tissues. Taken together, these results suggest that BWMV may be common and established in Hawaiian cetacean populations. BWMV will be important for understanding CeMV and health threats in the relatively understudied cetaceans of the Pacific.

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Viral distemper now found in porpoises

Cited by 131 publications

References 2 publications

Molecular characterization of expressed DQA and DQB genes in the California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus )

Molecular characterization of expressed DQA and DQB genes in the California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus )

Histopathologic and Immunocytochemical Studies of Distemper in Seals

Initial characterization of novel beaked whale morbillivirus in Hawaiian cetaceans

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