Phocine distemper virus in northern sea otters in the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, USA.
Phocine distemper virus (PDV) has caused 2 epidemics in harbor seals in the Atlantic Ocean but had never been identified in any Pacific Ocean species. We found that northern sea otters in Alaska are infected with PDV, which has created a disease threat to several sympatric and decreasing Pacific marine mammals.
Goldstein
Tracey
T
Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. tgoldstein@ucdavis.edu
Mazet
Jonna A K
JA
Gill
Verena A
VA
Doroff
Angela M
AM
Burek
Kathy A
KA
Hammond
John A
JA
D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004216:Distemper / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D018104:Distemper Virus, Phocine / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010041:Otters / Q000821:virology*; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral