101
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Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in North-eastern Atlantic harbor seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) and grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). Vet Parasitol 2011; 179:253-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2011.01.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2010] [Revised: 12/03/2010] [Accepted: 01/27/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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102
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Philip Earle JA, Melia MM, Doherty NV, Nielsen O, Cosby SL. Phocine distemper virus in seals, east coast, United States, 2006. Emerg Infect Dis 2011; 17:215-20. [PMID: 21291591 PMCID: PMC3204746 DOI: 10.3201/eid1702.100190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
: Phocine Distemper Virus in Seals In 2006 and 2007, elevated numbers of deaths among seals, constituting an unusual mortality event, occurred off the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts, United States. We isolated a virus from seal tissue and confirmed it as phocine distemper virus (PDV). We compared the viral hemagglutinin, phosphoprotein, and fusion (F) and matrix (M) protein gene sequences with those of viruses from the 1988 and 2002 PDV epizootics. The virus showed highest similarity with a PDV 1988 Netherlands virus, which raises the possibility that the 2006 isolate from the United States might have emerged independently from 2002 PDVs and that multiple lineages of PDV might be circulating among enzootically infected North American seals. Evidence from comparison of sequences derived from different tissues suggested that mutations in the F and M genes occur in brain tissue that are not present in lung, liver, or blood, which suggests virus persistence in the central nervous system.
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103
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Hueffer K, O'Hara TM, Follmann EH. Adaptation of mammalian host-pathogen interactions in a changing arctic environment. Acta Vet Scand 2011; 53:17. [PMID: 21392401 PMCID: PMC3061946 DOI: 10.1186/1751-0147-53-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2011] [Accepted: 03/11/2011] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Many arctic mammals are adapted to live year-round in extreme environments with low winter temperatures and great seasonal variations in key variables (e.g. sunlight, food, temperature, moisture). The interaction between hosts and pathogens in high northern latitudes is not very well understood with respect to intra-annual cycles (seasons). The annual cycles of interacting pathogen and host biology is regulated in part by highly synchronized temperature and photoperiod changes during seasonal transitions (e.g., freezeup and breakup). With a warming climate, only one of these key biological cues will undergo drastic changes, while the other will remain fixed. This uncoupling can theoretically have drastic consequences on host-pathogen interactions. These poorly understood cues together with a changing climate by itself will challenge host populations that are adapted to pathogens under the historic and current climate regime. We will review adaptations of both host and pathogens to the extreme conditions at high latitudes and explore some potential consequences of rapid changes in the Arctic.
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104
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ANDERSEN LISELOTTEW, LYDERSEN CHRISTIAN, FRIE ANNEK, ROSING-ASVID AQQALU, HAUKSSON ERLINGUR, KOVACS KITM. A population on the edge: genetic diversity and population structure of the world's northernmost harbour seals (Phoca vitulina). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01577.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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105
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Kakuschke A, Valentine-Thon E, Griesel S, Gandrass J, Perez Luzardo O, Dominguez Boada L, Zumbado Peña M, Almeida González M, Grebe M, Pröfrock D, Erbsloeh HB, Kramer K, Fonfara S, Prange A. First health and pollution study on harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) living in the German Elbe estuary. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2010; 60:2079-86. [PMID: 20701929 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2010] [Revised: 07/12/2010] [Accepted: 07/16/2010] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The Elbe is one of the major rivers releasing pollutants into the coastal areas of the German North Sea. Its estuary represents the habitat of a small population of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Only little is known about the health status and contamination levels of these seals. Therefore, a first-ever seal catch was organized next to the islands of Neuwerk and Scharhörn in the region of the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park. The investigations included a broad set of health parameters and the analysis of metals and organic pollutants in blood samples. Compared to animals of other Wadden Sea areas, the seals showed higher γ-globulin levels, suggesting higher concentrations of pathogens in this near-urban area, elevated concentrations for several metals in particular for V, Sn, Pb, and Sr, and comparable ranges for chlorinated organic contaminants, except for elevated levels of hexachlorobenzene, which indicates characteristic inputs from the Elbe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antje Kakuschke
- GKSS Research Center Geesthacht, Marine Bioanalytical Chemistry, Institute for Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany.
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106
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Stimmer L, Siebert U, Wohlsein P, Fontaine JJ, Baumgärtner W, Beineke A. Viral protein expression and phenotyping of inflammatory responses in the central nervous system of phocine distemper virus-infected harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Vet Microbiol 2010; 145:23-33. [PMID: 20303682 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2010.02.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2009] [Revised: 02/18/2010] [Accepted: 02/23/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The central nervous system (CNS) represents an important target organ of the phocine distemper virus (PDV). The aim of the present study was to characterize pathological changes in the CNS of harbor seals suffering from natural PDV-infection. The distribution of virus protein and mRNA was investigated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization, respectively. In addition, inflammatory and glial cells were characterized by IHC. Polioencephalitis with glial activation, neuronal death and perivascular mononuclear infiltrations in the cerebral cortex was the main histopathological finding. Inflammatory responses, dominated by CD3(+) T-cells and activated microglia/macrophages were associated with a prominent MHC-II upregulation within the CNS. Viral protein was found predominantly in neurofilament-expressing neurons within inflamed areas as demonstrated by immunohistochemical double-labeling. Morbillivirus nucleo-, phospho-, matrix-, fusion- and hemagglutinin-proteins were found in CNS-lesions. The expressions of viral matrix- and fusion-proteins were reduced in severely inflamed plaques. Comparison of viral protein and mRNA expression revealed a diminished amount of viral phosphoprotein preferentially associated with perivascular inflammation. In summary, CNS-lesions in PDV-infected seals are similar to canine distemper virus-induced acute polioencephalitis in dogs and measles virus inclusion body polioencephalitis in men, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lev Stimmer
- Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
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107
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Goldstein T, Mazet JAK, Gill VA, Doroff AM, Burek KA, Hammond JA. Phocine distemper virus in northern sea otters in the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, USA. Emerg Infect Dis 2009; 15:925-7. [PMID: 19523293 PMCID: PMC2727316 DOI: 10.3201/eid1506.090056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Phocine distemper virus (PDV) has caused 2 epidemics in harbor seals in the Atlantic Ocean but had never been identified in any Pacific Ocean species. We found that northern sea otters in Alaska are infected with PDV, which has created a disease threat to several sympatric and decreasing Pacific marine mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracey Goldstein
- Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
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108
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Nielsen L, Arctander P, Jensen TH, Dietz HH, Hammer AS, Banyard AC, Barrett T, Blixenkrone-Møller M. Genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of the attachment glycoprotein of phocine distemper viruses of the 2002 and 1988 epizootics. Virus Res 2009; 144:323-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2009.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2009] [Revised: 04/23/2009] [Accepted: 04/26/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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109
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Klepac P, Pomeroy LW, Bjørnstad ON, Kuiken T, Osterhaus ADME, Rijks JM. Stage-structured transmission of phocine distemper virus in the Dutch 2002 outbreak. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 276:2469-76. [PMID: 19364743 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneities in transmission among hosts can be very important in shaping infectious disease dynamics. In mammals with strong social organization, such heterogeneities are often structured by functional stage: juveniles, subadults and adults. We investigate the importance of such stage-related heterogeneities in shaping the 2002 phocine distemper virus (PDV) outbreak in the Dutch Wadden Sea, when more than 40 per cent of the harbour seals were killed. We do this by comparing the statistical fit of a hierarchy of models with varying transmission complexity: homogeneous versus heterogeneous mixing and density- versus frequency-dependent transmission. We use the stranding data as a proxy for incidence and use Poisson likelihoods to estimate the 'who acquires infection from whom' (WAIFW) matrix. Statistically, the model with strong heterogeneous mixing and density-dependent transmission was found to best describe the transmission dynamics. However, patterns of incidence support a model of frequency-dependent transmission among adults and juveniles. Based on the maximum-likelihood WAIFW matrix estimates, we use the next-generation formalism to calculate an R(0) between 2 and 2.5 for the Dutch 2002 PDV epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Klepac
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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110
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Raga JA, Banyard A, Domingo M, Corteyn M, Van Bressem MF, Fernández M, Aznar FJ, Barrett T. Dolphin morbillivirus epizootic resurgence, Mediterranean Sea. Emerg Infect Dis 2008; 14:471-3. [PMID: 18325265 PMCID: PMC2570809 DOI: 10.3201/eid1403.071230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In July 2007, > 100 striped dolphins, Stenella coeruleoalba, were found dead along the coast of the Spanish Mediterranean. Of 10 dolphins tested, 7 were positive for a virus strain closely related to the dolphin morbillivirus that was isolated during a previous epizootic in 1990.
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111
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Rijks JM, Read FL, van de Bildt MWG, van Bolhuis HG, Martina BEE, Wagenaar JA, van der Meulen K, Osterhaus ADME, Kuiken T. Quantitative analysis of the 2002 phocine distemper epidemic in the Netherlands. Vet Pathol 2008; 45:516-30. [PMID: 18587100 DOI: 10.1354/vp.45-4-516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Phocine distemper virus (PDV) caused thousands of deaths among harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from the North Sea in 1988 and 2002. To examine the effects of different factors on the pathology of phocine distemper, we performed necropsies and laboratory analyses on 369 harbor seals that stranded along the Dutch coast during the 2002 PDV epidemic. Diagnostic tests for morbillivirus infection indicated a differential temporal presence of morbillivirus in lung and brain. Seals of 3 years or older were significantly more often IgG positive than younger seals. The most frequent lesions in PDV cases were bronchopneumonia, broncho-interstitial pneumonia, and interstitial emphysema. Extra-thoracic emphysema was rare in <1-year-olds compared with older seals, even though severe pneumonia was more common. PDV cases generally had empty stomachs and less blubber than by-caught seals from before the epidemic. In PDV cases involving older animals, lung, kidney, and adrenal weights were significantly increased. Bordetella bronchiseptica was isolated from lungs in two thirds of the PDV cases examined. Our results indicate that brain should be included among the tissues tested for PDV by RT-PCR; that either phocine distemper has a longer duration in older seals or that there are age-related differences in immunity and organ development; that dehydration could play a role in the course and outcome of phocine distemper; and that bacterial coinfections in lungs are more frequent in PDV cases than gross lesions suggest. These results illustrate how quantitative analysis of pathology data from such epidemics can improve understanding of the causative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Rijks
- Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Postbus 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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112
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Norman SA. Spatial epidemiology and GIS in marine mammal conservation medicine and disease research. ECOHEALTH 2008; 5:257-267. [PMID: 18679749 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-008-0185-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2008] [Accepted: 06/17/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The use of spatial epidemiology and geographical information systems (GIS) facilitates the incorporation of spatial relationships into epidemiological investigations of marine mammal diseases and conservation medicine. Spatial epidemiology is the study of the spatial variation in disease risk or incidence and explicitly addresses spatial structures and functions that factor into disease. The GIS consists of input, management, analysis, and presentation of spatial disease data and can act as an integrative tool so that a range of varied data sources can be combined to describe different environmental aspects of wild animals and their diseases. The use of modern spatial analyses and GIS is becoming well developed in the field of marine mammal ecology and biology, but has just recently started to gain more use in disease research. The use of GIS methodology and spatial analysis in nondisease marine mammal studies is briefly discussed, while examples of the specific uses of these tools in mapping, surveillance and monitoring, disease cluster detection, identification of environmental predictors of disease in wildlife populations, risk assessment, and modeling of diseases, is presented. Marine mammal disease investigations present challenges, such as less consistent access to animals for sampling, fewer baseline data on diseases in wild populations, and less robust epidemiologic study designs, but several recommendations for future research are suggested. Since location is an integral part of investigating disease, spatial epidemiology and GIS should be incorporated as a data management and analysis tool in the study of marine mammal diseases and conservation medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A Norman
- Marine-Med: Marine Research, Epidemiology, and Veterinary Medicine, 24225 15th Place SE, Bothell, WA 98021, USA.
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113
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Bogomolni AL, Gast RJ, Ellis JC, Dennett M, Pugliares KR, Lentell BJ, Moore MJ. Victims or vectors: a survey of marine vertebrate zoonoses from coastal waters of the Northwest Atlantic. DISEASES OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS 2008; 81:13-38. [PMID: 18828560 PMCID: PMC5452619 DOI: 10.3354/dao01936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in marine birds and mammals in the Northwest Atlantic revealed a diversity of zoonotic agents. We found amplicons to sequences from Brucella spp., Leptospira spp., Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. in both marine mammals and birds. Avian influenza was detected in a harp seal and a herring gull. Routine aerobic and anaerobic culture showed a broad range of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics. Of 1460 isolates, 797 were tested for resistance, and 468 were resistant to one or more anti-microbials. 73% (341/468) were resistant to 1-4 drugs and 27% (128/468) resistant to 5-13 drugs. The high prevalence of resistance suggests that many of these isolates could have been acquired from medical and agricultural sources and inter-microbial gene transfer. Combining birds and mammals, 45% (63/141) of stranded and 8% (2/26) of by-caught animals in this study exhibited histopathological and/or gross pathological findings associated with the presence of these pathogens. Our findings indicate that marine mammals and birds in the Northwest Atlantic are reservoirs for potentially zoonotic pathogens, which they may transmit to beachgoers, fishermen and wildlife health personnel. Conversely, zoonotic pathogens found in marine vertebrates may have been acquired via contamination of coastal waters by sewage, run-off and agricultural and medical waste. In either case these animals are not limited by political boundaries and are therefore important indicators of regional and global ocean health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea L. Bogomolni
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
| | - Rebecca J. Gast
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
| | - Julie C. Ellis
- Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, Massachusetts 01536, USA
| | - Mark Dennett
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
| | - Katie R. Pugliares
- Cape Cod Stranding Network, a project of IFAW, 290 Summer Street, Yarmouthport, Massachusetts 02675, USA
| | - Betty J. Lentell
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Observer Program, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
| | - Michael J. Moore
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
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114
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Harris CM, Travis JMJ, Harwood J. Evaluating the influence of epidemiological parameters and host ecology on the spread of phocine distemper virus through populations of harbour seals. PLoS One 2008; 3:e2710. [PMID: 18628992 PMCID: PMC2442657 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2008] [Accepted: 06/09/2008] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Outbreaks of phocine distemper virus (PDV) in Europe during 1988 and 2002 were responsible for the death of around 23,000 and 30,000 harbour seals, respectively. These epidemics, particularly the one in 2002, provided an unusual opportunity to estimate epidemic parameters for a wildlife disease. There were marked regional differences in the values of some parameters both within and between epidemics. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We used an individual-based model of seal movement that allowed us to incorporate realistic representations of space, time and animal behaviour into a traditional epidemiological modelling framework. We explored the potential influence of a range of ecological (foraging trip duration, time of epidemic onset, population size) and epidemiological (length of infectious period, contact rate between infectious and susceptible individuals, case mortality) parameters on four readily-measurable epidemic characteristics (number of dead individuals, duration of epidemic, peak mortality date and prevalence) and on the probability that an epidemic would occur in a particular region. We analysed the outputs as if they were the results of a series of virtual experiments, using Generalised Linear Modelling. All six variables had a significant effect on the probability that an epidemic would be recognised as an unusual mortality event by human observers. CONCLUSIONS Regional and temporal variation in contact rate was the most likely cause of the observed differences between the two epidemics. This variation could be a consequence of differences in the way individuals divide their time between land and sea at different times of the year.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catriona M Harris
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom.
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115
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Harkonen T, Bäcklin BM, Barrett T, Bergman A, Corteyn M, Dietz R, Harding KC, Malmsten J, Roos A, Teilmann J. Mass mortality in harbour seals and harbour porpoises caused by an unknown pathogen. Vet Rec 2008; 162:555-6. [DOI: 10.1136/vr.162.17.555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- T. Harkonen
- Swedish Museum of Natural History; Box 50007 104 05 Stockholm Sweden
| | - B. M. Bäcklin
- Swedish Museum of Natural History; Box 50007 104 05 Stockholm Sweden
| | - T. Barrett
- Institute for Animal Health; Ash Road Pirbright Surrey GU24 0NF
| | - A. Bergman
- Swedish Museum of Natural History; Box 50007 104 05 Stockholm Sweden
| | - M. Corteyn
- Institute for Animal Health; Ash Road Pirbright Surrey GU24 0NF
| | - R. Dietz
- National Environmental Research Institute; University of Aarhus; Box 358 DK-4000 Roskidle Denmark
| | - K. C. Harding
- Department of Marine Ecology; Gothenburg University; Box 461 405 30 Gothenburg Sweden
| | - J. Malmsten
- National Veterinary Institute; 751 89 Uppsala Sweden
| | - A. Roos
- Swedish Museum of Natural History; Box 50007 104 05 Stockholm Sweden
| | - J. Teilmann
- National Environmental Research Institute; University of Aarhus; Box 358 DK-4000 Roskidle Denmark
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116
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Burek KA, Gulland FMD, O'Hara TM. Effects of climate change on Arctic marine mammal health. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2008; 18:S126-34. [PMID: 18494366 DOI: 10.1890/06-0553.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The lack of integrated long-term data on health, diseases, and toxicant effects in Arctic marine mammals severely limits our ability to predict the effects of climate change on marine mammal health. The overall health of an individual animal is the result of complex interactions among immune status, body condition, pathogens and their pathogenicity, toxicant exposure, and the various environmental conditions that interact with these factors. Climate change could affect these interactions in several ways. There may be direct effects of loss of the sea ice habitat, elevations of water and air temperature, and increased occurrence of severe weather. Some of the indirect effects of climate change on animal health will likely include alterations in pathogen transmission due to a variety of factors, effects on body condition due to shifts in the prey base/food web, changes in toxicant exposures, and factors associated with increased human habitation in the Arctic (e.g., chemical and pathogen pollution in the runoff due to human and domestic-animal wastes and chemicals and increased ship traffic with the attendant increased risks of ship strike, oil spills, ballast pollution, and possibly acoustic injury). The extent to which climate change will impact marine mammal health will also vary among species, with some species more sensitive to these factors than others. Baseline data on marine mammal health parameters along with matched data on the population and climate change trends are needed to document these changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy A Burek
- Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services, P.O. Box 773072, Eagle River, Alaska 99577, USA.
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117
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Phocine distemper virus: characterization of the morbillivirus causing the seal epizootic in northwestern Europe in 2002. Arch Virol 2008; 153:951-6. [PMID: 18305893 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-008-0055-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2007] [Accepted: 01/04/2008] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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118
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McCarthy AJ, Shaw MA, Goodman SJ. Pathogen evolution and disease emergence in carnivores. Proc Biol Sci 2008; 274:3165-74. [PMID: 17956850 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2007.0884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging infectious diseases constitute some of the most pressing problems for both human and domestic animal health, and biodiversity conservation. Currently it is not clear whether the removal of past constraints on geographical distribution and transmission possibilities for pathogens alone are sufficient to give rise to novel host-pathogen combinations, or whether pathogen evolution is also generally required for establishment in novel hosts. Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a morbillivirus that is prevalent in the world dog population and poses an important conservation threat to a diverse range of carnivores. We performed an extensive phylogenetic and molecular evolution analysis on complete sequences of all CDV genes to assess the role of selection and recombination in shaping viral genetic diversity and driving the emergence of CDV in non-dog hosts. We tested the specific hypothesis that molecular adaptation at known receptor-binding sites of the haemagglutinin gene is associated with independent instances of the spread of CDV to novel non-dog hosts in the wild. This hypothesis was upheld, providing compelling evidence that repeated evolution at known functional sites (in this case residues 530 and 549 of the haemagglutinin molecule) is associated with multiple independent occurrences of disease emergence in a range of novel host species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex J McCarthy
- Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
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119
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Kovacs KM, Lydersen C. Climate change impacts on seals and whales in the North Atlantic Arctic and adjacent shelf seas. Sci Prog 2008; 91:117-50. [PMID: 18717366 PMCID: PMC10367525 DOI: 10.3184/003685008x324010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In a warmer Arctic, endemic marine mammal species will face extreme levels of habitat change, most notably a dramatic reduction in sea ice. Additionally, the physical environmental changes, including less ice and increased water (and air) temperatures will result in alterations to the forage base of arctic marine mammals, including density and distributional shifts in their prey, as well as potential losses of some of their traditionally favoured fat-rich prey species. In addition they are likely to face increased competition from invasive temperate species, increased predation from species formerly unable to access them in areas of extensive sea ice or simply because the water temperature was restrictive, increased disease risk and perhaps also increased risks from contaminants. Over the coming decades it is also likely that arctic marine mammals will face increased impacts from human traffic and development in previously inaccessible, ice-covered areas. Impacts on ice-associated cetaceans are difficult to predict because the reasons for their affiliation with sea ice are not clearly understood. But, it is certain that ice-breeding seals will have marked, or total, breeding-habitat loss in their traditional breeding areas and will certainly undergo distributional changes and in all probability abundance reductions. If species are fixed in traditional spatial and temporal cycles, and are unable to shift them within decadal time scales, some populations will go extinct. In somewhat longer time frames, species extinctions can also be envisaged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kit M. Kovacs
- Biodiversity Research Group of the Norwegian Polar Institute, 9696, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Christian Lydersen
- University Studies on Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen, 9171 Svalbard, Norway
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120
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Kreutzer M, Kreutzer R, Siebert U, Müller G, Reijnders P, Brasseur S, Härkönen T, Dietz R, Sonne C, Born EW, Baumgärtner W. In search of virus carriers of the 1988 and 2002 phocine distemper virus outbreaks in European harbour seals. Arch Virol 2007; 153:187-92. [PMID: 17896075 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-007-1070-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2007] [Accepted: 08/31/2007] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
European harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) populations decreased substantially during the phocine distemper virus (PDV) outbreaks of 1988 and 2002. Different hypotheses have stated that various seals and terrestrial carnivore species might be the source of infection. To further analyse these hypotheses, grey (Halichoerus grypus) and ringed (Phoca hispida) seals, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and minks (Mustela lutreola) were sampled from the North Sea and East Greenland coasts between 1988 and 2004 and investigated by RT-PCR using a panmorbillivirus primer pair. However, all samples were negative for morbillivirus nucleic acid.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kreutzer
- Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany
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121
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Härkönen T, Harding K, Rasmussen TD, Teilmann J, Dietz R. Age- and sex-specific mortality patterns in an emerging wildlife epidemic: the phocine distemper in European harbour seals. PLoS One 2007; 2:e887. [PMID: 17849016 PMCID: PMC1964516 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2007] [Accepted: 08/21/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Analyses of the dynamics of diseases in wild populations typically assume all individuals to be identical. However, profound effects on the long-term impact on the host population can be expected if the disease has age and sex dependent dynamics. The Phocine Distemper Virus (PDV) caused two mass mortalities in European harbour seals in 1988 and in 2002. We show the mortality patterns were highly age specific on both occasions, where young of the year and adult (>4 yrs) animals suffered extremely high mortality, and sub-adult seals (1-3 yrs) of both sexes experienced low mortality. Consequently, genetic differences cannot have played a main role explaining why some seals survived and some did not in the study region, since parents had higher mortality levels than their progeny. Furthermore, there was a conspicuous absence of animals older than 14 years among the victims in 2002, which strongly indicates that the survivors from the previous disease outbreak in 1988 had acquired and maintained immunity to PDV. These specific mortality patterns imply that contact rates and susceptibility to the disease are strongly age and sex dependent variables, underlining the need for structured epidemic models for wildlife diseases. Detailed data can thus provide crucial information about a number of vital parameters such as functional herd immunity. One of many future challenges in understanding the epidemiology of the PDV and other wildlife diseases is to reveal how immune system responses differ among animals in different stages during their life cycle. The influence of such underlying mechanisms may also explain the limited evidence for abrupt disease thresholds in wild populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tero Härkönen
- Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden.
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122
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Sips GJ, Chesik D, Glazenburg L, Wilschut J, De Keyser J, Wilczak N. Involvement of morbilliviruses in the pathogenesis of demyelinating disease. Rev Med Virol 2007; 17:223-44. [PMID: 17410634 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Two members of the morbillivirus genus of the family Paramyxoviridae, canine distemper virus (CDV) and measles virus (MV), are well-known for their ability to cause a chronic demyelinating disease of the CNS in their natural hosts, dogs and humans, respectively. Both viruses have been studied for their potential involvement in the neuropathogenesis of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Recently, three new members of the morbillivirus genus, phocine distemper virus (PDV), porpoise morbillivirus (PMV) and dolphin morbillivirus (DMV), have been discovered. These viruses have also been shown to induce multifocal demyelinating disease in infected animals. This review focuses on morbillivirus-induced neuropathologies with emphasis on aetiopathogenesis of CNS demyelination. The possible involvement of a morbillivirus in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- G J Sips
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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123
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Siebert U, Wohlsein P, Lehnert K, Baumgärtner W. Pathological Findings in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ): 1996–2005. J Comp Pathol 2007; 137:47-58. [PMID: 17629967 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2007.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2006] [Accepted: 04/02/2007] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Between 1996 and 2005 the carcasses of 355 harbour seals originating from the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, were investigated for pathological changes. The animals were collected before (n=280) and after (n=75) the second phocine distemper virus (PDV) epizootic in 2002. The seals were either found dead or were killed due to severe illness. Necropsy was performed in each case, in addition to histopathological, immunohistochemical, microbiological and parasitological examinations. Throughout the period of study, the respiratory and alimentary tracts were the organ systems most consistently affected by pathological change. The most common cause of death was bronchopneumonia caused by parasitic and/or bacterial infection of the lung. Less frequently identified changes included: trauma, gastroenteritis, uterine torsion or dystocia, polyarthritis/polymyositis, intestinal torsion, septicaemia, dermatitis, and keratitis. The most frequent causes of bronchopneumonia, gastroenteritis, polyarthritis, dermatitis and septicaemia were infections with alpha/beta-haemolytic streptococci, Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens. A number of changes were more frequently identified after 2002. These included the presence of parasites in the lung, stomach and intestine; bronchopneumonia, gastritis, enteritis, septicaemia and perinatal death. The increased prevalence of these changes may have been related to the preceding PDV epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- U Siebert
- Forschungs- und Technologiezentrum Westküste, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Hafentoern, 25761 Büsum.
| | - P Wohlsein
- Institut für Pathologie, Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
| | - K Lehnert
- Forschungs- und Technologiezentrum Westküste, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Hafentoern, 25761 Büsum
| | - W Baumgärtner
- Institut für Pathologie, Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
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124
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Lonergan M, Duck CD, Thompson D, Mackey BL, Cunningham L, Boyd IL. Using sparse survey data to investigate the declining abundance of British harbour seals. J Zool (1987) 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00311.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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125
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Akineden O, Alber J, Lämmler C, Weiss R, Siebert U, Foster G, Tougaard S, Brasseur SMJM, Reijnders PJH. Relatedness of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains isolated from harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) of various origins of the North Sea during 1988–2005. Vet Microbiol 2007; 121:158-62. [PMID: 17169506 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2006.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2006] [Revised: 11/09/2006] [Accepted: 11/20/2006] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The present study was designed to identify 15 beta-hemolytic streptococci isolated during a period between 1988 and 2005 from nine harbour seals and six grey seals from various origins of the North Sea. All isolates were identified as Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus. The bacteria were additionally investigated for relatedness by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of PCR amplified 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region and gene szp and by macrorestriction analysis of chromosomal DNA of the strains by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. The molecular analysis yielded identical or closely related patterns within the strains of the present study and with the S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains isolated from harbour seals of German North Sea which were investigated previously [Akineden, O., Hassan, A.A., Alber, J., El-Sayed, A., Estoepangestie, A.T.S., Lämmler, C., Weiss, R., Siebert, U., 2005. Phenotypic and genotypic properties of S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolated from harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from the German North Sea during the phocine distemper outbreak in 2002. Vet. Microbiol. 110, 147-152]. This indicates that this single or closely related bacterial clone existed during both phocine distemper virus epidemics in 1988 and 2002 and that a direct transmission of the strains has occurred between two seal species and between seal populations of far distant regions possibly with grey seals as a vector.
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Affiliation(s)
- O Akineden
- Institut für Tierärztliche Nahrungsmittelkunde, Professur für Milchwissenschaften, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Ludwigstr. 23, 35390 Giessen, Germany
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126
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Thompson PM, Mackey B, Barton TR, Duck C, Butler JRA. Assessing the potential impact of salmon fisheries management on the conservation status of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in north-east Scotland. Anim Conserv 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2006.00066.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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