Mass Die-Off of Caspian Seals Caused by Canine Distemper Virus

Authors :: Seamus Kennedy
Thijs Kuiken
Paul D. Jepson
Robert Deaville
Morag Forsyth
Tom Barrett
Marco W.G. van de Bildt
Albert D.M.E. Osterhaus
Tariel Eybatov
Callan Duck
Aidyn Kydyrmanov
Igor Mitrofanov
Susan Wilson
Source :: Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol 6, Iss 6, Pp 637-639 (2000)
Publication Year :: 2000
Publisher :: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000.
Abstract: Thousands of Caspian seals (Phoca caspica) died in the Caspian Sea from April to August 2000. Lesions characteristic of morbillivirus infection were found in tissue specimens from dead seals. Canine distemper virus infection was identified by serologic examination, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing of selected P gene fragments. These results implicate canine distemper virus infection as the primary cause of death.