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

Endangered Species Research

Lydia Staggs¹  Deborah A. Fauquier¹  Tracey Goldstein¹  Jenny Litz¹  Jeremiah Saliki¹  Kathleen Colegrove¹  Noel L. Wingers¹  Ruth H. Carmichael¹  Wayne McFee¹  Wendy Hatchett¹  Elizabeth Stratton¹  Lori H. Schwacke¹  Teri K. Rowles¹  Delphine Shannon¹  Leslie Hart¹  Connie Clemons-Chevis¹  Mandy C. Tumlin¹  Blair Mase-Guthrie¹  Steve Shippee4¹  Susan Sanchez¹  0¹  Suzanne Smith6¹  Cynthia Smith¹  Erin Fougeres¹  Ruth Ewing¹  Stephanie Venn-Watson¹  Sabrina Bowen-Stevens¹ 

关键词: Dolphin;    Strandings;    Tursiops truncatus;    Unusual mortality event;    Polymerase chain reaction;   

DOI  :  10.3354/esr00772

学科分类：动物科学

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: 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.

【 授权许可】

Unknown