RESUMEN
The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is one of the world's most endangered marine mammals. The largest population is located mainly throughout the Aegean and Ionian islands and along the coastline of southern continental Greece. We report the findings of a necropsy and discuss their potential importance to the conservation of the species. The adult female monk seal appeared to be in a good nutritional state. The main necropsy findings were injuries consistent with a violent and sudden death, including three round wounds on the ventral surface of the body and several hematomas, as well as a decomposing male fetus in the uterus. Two nematodes were found in the right ventricle of the heart; no abnormalities were observed in the lungs, pulmonary vessels, or heart. The nematodes were identified as Acanthocheilonema spirocauda. This is the first report of infection of the Mediterranean monk seal with A. spirocauda, even though this is the most common heartworm found in most pinnipeds worldwide. This parasite should be considered in health care monitoring projects of this endangered species.
Asunto(s)
Infecciones por Dipetalonema/veterinaria , Dipetalonema/aislamiento & purificación , Phocidae/parasitología , Animales , Infecciones por Dipetalonema/epidemiología , Infecciones por Dipetalonema/patología , Infecciones por Dipetalonema/transmisión , Especies en Peligro de Extinción , Resultado Fatal , Femenino , Masculino , Mar MediterráneoRESUMEN
Two morbilliviruses were isolated from carcases of Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) which had died in coastal areas of Greece and Mauritania. They were characterised as being closely related to the previously identified dolphin and porpoise morbilliviruses on the basis of their serological cross-reactivities in immunofluorescence assays, and sequence homologies in their N and P genes. The results suggest that morbilliviruses of aquatic mammals may cross barriers between species of different orders.
Asunto(s)
Cetáceos/virología , Infecciones por Morbillivirus/veterinaria , Morbillivirus/clasificación , Phocidae , Animales , Anticuerpos Antivirales/sangre , Anticuerpos Antivirales/inmunología , Secuencia de Bases , Encéfalo/virología , Cadáver , Chlorocebus aethiops , Reacciones Cruzadas , Cartilla de ADN , ADN Viral/química , Hurones , Técnica del Anticuerpo Fluorescente/veterinaria , Grecia , Pulmón/virología , Mauritania , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Morbillivirus/genética , Morbillivirus/inmunología , Morbillivirus/aislamiento & purificación , Infecciones por Morbillivirus/diagnóstico , Infecciones por Morbillivirus/transmisión , Pruebas de Neutralización/veterinaria , Filogenia , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa/veterinaria , Alineación de Secuencia/veterinaria , Homología de Secuencia de Ácido Nucleico , Especificidad de la Especie , Células VeroRESUMEN
Two morbilliviruses were isolated from Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), one from a stranded animal in Greece and the other one from carcasses washed ashore during a mass die-off in Mauritania. From both viruses N and P gene fragments were sequenced and compared to those of other known morbilliviruses. The monk seal morbilliviruses most closely resembled previously identified cetacean morbilliviruses, indicating that interspecies transmission from cetaceans to pinnipeds has occurred.
Asunto(s)
Morbillivirus/clasificación , Phocidae/virología , Animales , ADN Viral/química , Grecia , Morbillivirus/aislamiento & purificación , FilogeniaRESUMEN
During the past few months, more than half of the total population of about 300 highly endangered Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) on the western Saharan coast of Africa, died in a mysterious disease outbreak. Epizootiological and postmortem findings were reminiscent of similar outbreaks amongst pinniped and cetacean species in recent years, which were caused by an infection with newly discovered morbilliviruses (for review see osterhaus et al.). Virological, as well as toxicological, analysis performed on tissue samples collected from relatively fresh carcasses during the outbreak indicate that infection with a virus closely related to dolphin morbillivirus (DMV), possibly originating from affected dolphins in the same area, was the primary cause of the outbreak. Therefore it is concluded that vaccination with a safe and effective non-replicating vaccine should be considered as a management tool in the conservation of Mediterranean monk seals.
Asunto(s)
Brotes de Enfermedades/veterinaria , Infecciones por Morbillivirus/veterinaria , Phocidae/virología , África Occidental , Animales , Delfines/virología , Toxinas Marinas/análisis , Morbillivirus/clasificación , Morbillivirus/genética , Morbillivirus/aislamiento & purificación , Infecciones por Morbillivirus/epidemiología , Infecciones por Morbillivirus/virología , Phocidae/metabolismo , Vacunación/veterinaria , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/análisisRESUMEN
Morbillivirus were isolated from Mediterranean striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) dying along the coasts of Italy and Greece in 1991. They were antigenically identical to the morbilliviruses isolated from striped dolphins in Spain in 1990.