title: Clinical relevance of novel Otarine herpesvirus-3 in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus): lymphoma, esophageal ulcers, and strandings.
abstract: Herpesviruses have been recognized in marine mammals, but their clinical relevance is not always easy to assess. A novel otarine herpesvirus-3 (OtHV3) was detected in a geriatric California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), and using a newly developed quantitative PCR assay paired with histology, OtHV3 was associated with esophageal ulcers and B cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in this animal. The prevalence and quantities of OtHV3 were then determined among buffy coats from 87 stranded and managed collection sea lions. Stranded sea lions had a higher prevalence of OtHV3 compared to managed collection sea lions (34.9% versus 12.5%; p = 0.04), and among the stranded sea lions, yearlings were most likely to be positive. Future epidemiological studies comparing the presence and viral loads of OtHV3 among a larger population of California sea lions with and without lymphoid neoplasia or esophageal ulcers would help elucidate the relevance of OtHV3-associated pathologies to these groups.
authors.affiliation: National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego, California, 92106, USA. stephanie.venn-watson@nmmf.org.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Venn-Watson
authors.forename: Celeste
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benham
authors.forename: Frances M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Gulland
authors.forename: Cynthia R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: St Leger
authors.forename: Pam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yochem
authors.forename: Hendrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nollens
authors.forename: Uriel
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Blas-Machado
authors.forename: Jeremiah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saliki
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Colegrove
authors.forename: James Fx
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wellehan
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rivera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004935:Esophageal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D046070:Sea Lions; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein / Q000662:veterinary; D014456:Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D014481:United States