Evaluation of morbillivirus exposure in cetaceans from the northern Gulf of Mexico 2010-2014

Deborah A. Fauquier; Jenny Litz; Susan Sanchez; Kathleen Colegrove; Lori H. Schwacke; Leslie Hart; Jeremiah Saliki; Cynthia Smith; Tracey Goldstein; Sabrina Bowen-Stevens; Wayne McFee; Erin Fougeres; Blair Mase-Guthrie; Elizabeth Stratton; Ruth Ewing; Stephanie Venn-Watson; Ruth H. Carmichael; Connie Clemons-Chevis; Wendy Hatchett; Delphine Shannon; Steve Shippee; Suzanne Smith; Lydia Staggs; Mandy C. Tumlin; Noel L. Wingers; Teri K. Rowles

doi:10.3354/esr00772

ESR

Endangered Species Research

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ESR 33:211-220 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00772

Evaluation of morbillivirus exposure in cetaceans from the northern Gulf of Mexico 2010-2014

Deborah A. Fauquier^1,*, Jenny Litz², Susan Sanchez³, Kathleen Colegrove⁴, Lori H. Schwacke⁵, Leslie Hart^5,6, Jeremiah Saliki³, Cynthia Smith⁷, Tracey Goldstein⁸, Sabrina Bowen-Stevens⁹, Wayne McFee⁵, Erin Fougeres¹⁰, Blair Mase-Guthrie², Elizabeth Stratton⁹, Ruth Ewing², Stephanie Venn-Watson⁷, Ruth H. Carmichael¹¹, Connie Clemons-Chevis¹², Wendy Hatchett¹², Delphine Shannon¹², Steve Shippee^13,14, Suzanne Smith^15,16, Lydia Staggs¹⁶, Mandy C. Tumlin¹⁷, Noel L. Wingers¹¹, Teri K. Rowles¹

¹NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
²NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, FL 33149, USA
³Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
⁴Zoological Pathology Program, University of Illinois, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
⁵NOAA National Ocean Service, National Center for Coastal Ocean Science, Charleston, SC 29412, USA
⁶College of Charleston, Department of Health and Human Performance, Charleston, SC 29424, USA
⁷National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
⁸One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
⁹NOAA Affiliate, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, FL 33149, USA
¹⁰NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
¹¹Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama, Dauphin Island, AL 36528, USA
¹²Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, MS 39502, USA
¹³Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548, USA
¹⁴Marine Wildlife Response, Mary Esther, FL 32569, USA
¹⁵Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
¹⁶GulfWorld Marine Park, Panama City Beach, FL 32413, USA
¹⁷Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Baton Rouge, LA 70358, USA

*Corresponding author: Deborah.Fauquier@noaa.gov

ABSTRACT: The potential role of morbillivirus was evaluated in the deaths of >1100 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus and other small cetaceans that stranded from February 2010 through July 2014, during the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) unusual mortality event (UME). Morbillivirus analysis was carried out on 142 live or freshly dead cetaceans and results were combined with samples from 102 live, free-ranging bottlenose dolphins sampled during capture-release health assessments conducted from 2011 to 2014. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for morbillivirus showed that 9.9% (14/142) of the stranded cetaceans and 1% (1/83) of the free-ranging live dolphins were positive for dolphin morbilliviral (DMV) RNA. In contrast, previous DMV dolphin die-offs had DMV detectable by PCR in 61 to 97% of animals tested. Histologic findings consistent with morbillivirus infection, including lymphoid depletion, bronchointerstitial pneumonia, syncytial cell formation, or meningoencephalitis, were found in 6.6% (9/136) of the cetaceans that underwent histologic examinations. Serological analysis using a virus neutralization assay found that 29% (5/17) of live stranded and 23% (23/102) of live free-ranging bottlenose dolphins had titers of 64 or greater for cetacean morbillivirus, indicating prior but not necessarily recent exposure to morbillivirus. Current findings suggest that DMV infection, although present in the northern GoM, was sporadic and occurred at low levels and therefore was not the primary cause of the northern GoM UME. Confirmation of DMV infections and existing DMV titers demonstrate continued exposure to morbillivirus among northern GoM cetaceans since the first detection of this virus in the early 1990s.

KEY WORDS: Dolphin · Strandings · Tursiops truncatus · Unusual mortality event · Polymerase chain reaction

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Cite this article as: Fauquier DA, Litz J, Sanchez S, Colegrove K and others (2017) Evaluation of morbillivirus exposure in cetaceans from the northern Gulf of Mexico 2010-2014. Endang Species Res 33:211-220. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00772

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