Screening for Influenza and Morbillivirus in Seals and Porpoises in the Baltic and North Sea
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Screening for Influenza and Morbillivirus in Seals and Porpoises in the Baltic and North Sea. / Stokholm, Iben; Baechlein, Christine; Persson, Sara; Roos, Anna; Galatius, Anders; Kyhn, Line Anker; Sveegaard, Signe; Thøstesen, Charlotte Bie; Olsen, Morten Tange; Becher, Paul; Siebert, Ursula.
In: Pathogens, Vol. 12, No. 3, 357, 2023.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Screening for Influenza and Morbillivirus in Seals and Porpoises in the Baltic and North Sea
AU - Stokholm, Iben
AU - Baechlein, Christine
AU - Persson, Sara
AU - Roos, Anna
AU - Galatius, Anders
AU - Kyhn, Line Anker
AU - Sveegaard, Signe
AU - Thøstesen, Charlotte Bie
AU - Olsen, Morten Tange
AU - Becher, Paul
AU - Siebert, Ursula
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Historically, the seals and harbour porpoises of the Baltic Sea and North Sea have been subjected to hunting, chemical pollutants and repeated mass mortalities, leading to significant population fluctuations. Despite the conservation implications and the zoonotic potential associated with viral disease outbreaks in wildlife, limited information is available on the circulation of viral pathogens in Baltic Sea seals and harbour porpoises. Here, we investigated the presence of the influenza A virus (IAV), the phocine distemper virus (PDV) and the cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) in tracheal swabs and lung tissue samples from 99 harbour seals, 126 grey seals, 73 ringed seals and 78 harbour porpoises collected in the Baltic Sea and North Sea between 2002–2019. Despite screening 376 marine mammals collected over nearly two decades, we only detected one case of PDV and two cases of IAV linked to the documented viral outbreaks in seals in 2002 and 2014, respectively. Although we find no evidence of PDV and IAV during intermediate years, reports of isolated cases of PDV in North Sea harbour seals and IAV (H5N8) in Baltic and North Sea grey seals suggest introductions of those pathogens within the sampling period. Thus, to aid future monitoring efforts we highlight the need for a standardized and continuous sample collection of swabs, tissue and blood samples across Baltic Sea countries.
AB - Historically, the seals and harbour porpoises of the Baltic Sea and North Sea have been subjected to hunting, chemical pollutants and repeated mass mortalities, leading to significant population fluctuations. Despite the conservation implications and the zoonotic potential associated with viral disease outbreaks in wildlife, limited information is available on the circulation of viral pathogens in Baltic Sea seals and harbour porpoises. Here, we investigated the presence of the influenza A virus (IAV), the phocine distemper virus (PDV) and the cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) in tracheal swabs and lung tissue samples from 99 harbour seals, 126 grey seals, 73 ringed seals and 78 harbour porpoises collected in the Baltic Sea and North Sea between 2002–2019. Despite screening 376 marine mammals collected over nearly two decades, we only detected one case of PDV and two cases of IAV linked to the documented viral outbreaks in seals in 2002 and 2014, respectively. Although we find no evidence of PDV and IAV during intermediate years, reports of isolated cases of PDV in North Sea harbour seals and IAV (H5N8) in Baltic and North Sea grey seals suggest introductions of those pathogens within the sampling period. Thus, to aid future monitoring efforts we highlight the need for a standardized and continuous sample collection of swabs, tissue and blood samples across Baltic Sea countries.
KW - cetaceans
KW - grey seal
KW - harbour porpoise
KW - harbour seal
KW - influenza virus
KW - marine mammals
KW - morbillivirus
KW - pathogen screening
KW - pinnipeds
KW - ringed seal
U2 - 10.3390/pathogens12030357
DO - 10.3390/pathogens12030357
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36986279
AN - SCOPUS:85151453730
VL - 12
JO - Pathogens
JF - Pathogens
SN - 2076-0817
IS - 3
M1 - 357
ER -
ID: 344434814