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Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (TK, MWGVDB, ADMEO), Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK (SK), Institute of Animal Health, Pirbright, Surrey, UK (TB, MAF), Division of Infectious Diseases, Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen UR, Lelystad, The Netherlands (FHB), FAO/WHO Centre for Brucellosis Reference and Research, Weybridge, UK (SDB), Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St. Andrews, Fife, UK (CD), School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, UK (GAC, CJW), Institute of Zoology, Regent's Park, London, UK (RD, PDJ), Geological Institute of the Azerbaijan Republic Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan (TE), SAC Veterinary Services, Inverness, UK (GF), Laboratory of Virus Ecology, Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Almaty, Kazakhstan (AK), Akademgorodok, Institute of Zoology, Almaty, Kazakhstan (IM), and Tara Seal Reseach Centre, Co. Down Northern Ireland, UK (SW)
More than 10,000 Caspian seals (Phoca caspica) were reported dead in the Caspian Sea during spring and summer 2000. We performed necropsies and extensive laboratory analyses on 18 seals, as well as examination of the pattern of strandings and variation in weather in recent years, to identify the cause of mortality and potential contributory factors. The monthly stranding rate in 2000 was up to 2.8 times the historic mean. It was preceded by an unusually mild winter, as observed before in mass mortality events of pinnipeds. The primary diagnosis in 11 of 13 seals was canine distemper, characterized by broncho-interstitial pneumonia, lymphocytic necrosis and depletion in lymphoid organs, and the presence of typical intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in multiple epithelia. Canine distemper virus infection was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis of reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction products. Organochlorine and zinc concentrations in tissues of seals with canine distemper were comparable to those of Caspian seals in previous years. Concurrent bacterial infections that may have contributed to the mortality of the seals included Bordetella bronchiseptica (4/8 seals), Streptococcus phocae (3/8), Salmonella dublin (1/8), and S. choleraesuis (1/8). A newly identified bacterium, Corynebacterium caspium, was associated with balanoposthitis in one seal. Several infectious and parasitic organisms, including poxvirus, Atopobacter phocae, Eimeria- and Sarcocystis-like organisms, and Halarachne sp. were identified in Caspian seals for the first time.
Key words: Bacteriology; communicable diseases, emerging; distemper virus, canine; immunohistochemistry; pathology; seals; toxicology; virology.
Request reprints from Dr. T Kuiken, Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Center, PO Box 1738, Rotterdam, 3000 DR (The Netherlands). E-mail: t.kuiken{at}erasmusmc.nl
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