title: Phocine distemper virus: current knowledge and future directions.
abstract: Phocine distemper virus (PDV) was first recognized in 1988 following a massive epidemic in harbor and grey seals in north-western Europe. Since then, the epidemiology of infection in North Atlantic and Arctic pinnipeds has been investigated. In the western North Atlantic endemic infection in harp and grey seals predates the European epidemic, with relatively small, localized mortality events occurring primarily in harbor seals. By contrast, PDV seems not to have become established in European harbor seals following the 1988 epidemic and a second event of similar magnitude and extent occurred in 2002. PDV is a distinct species within the Morbillivirus genus with minor sequence variation between outbreaks over time. There is now mounting evidence of PDV-like viruses in the North Pacific/Western Arctic with serological and molecular evidence of infection in pinnipeds and sea otters. However, despite the absence of associated mortality in the region, there is concern that the virus may infect the large Pacific harbor seal and northern elephant seal populations or the endangered Hawaiian monk seals. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on PDV with particular focus on developments in diagnostics, pathogenesis, immune response, vaccine development, phylogenetics and modeling over the past 20 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. ppjduign@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Pádraig J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Duignan
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. mfb.cmed@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marie-Françoise
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Van Bressem
authors.affiliation: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 1845 WASP Blvd., Building 176, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818, USA. Jason.Baker@noaa.gov.
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 1845 WASP Blvd., Building 176, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818, USA. gullandf@tmmc.org.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.affiliation: Zoological Pathology Program, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Maywood, IL 60153, USA. katie.colegrove@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Colegrove
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science, and Connecticut Sea Grant College Program, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA. sylvain.deguise@uconn.edu.
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Guise
authors.affiliation: Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, 3015 CN Rotterdam, The Netherlands. r.deswart@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Rik L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: de Swart
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, Italy. gdiguardo@unite.it.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Guardo
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-2016, USA. dobson@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dobson
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
authors.forename: W Paul
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Duprex
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Early
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. mfb.cmed@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fauquier
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. gullandf@tmmc.org.
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-2016, USA. grenfell@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grenfell
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. sylvain.deguise@uconn.edu.
authors.forename: Kátia R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Groch
authors.affiliation: The Marine Mammal Centre, Sausalito, CA 94965, USA. r.deswart@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gulland
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. gdiguardo@unite.it.
authors.forename: Ailsa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. bjensen@hpu.edu.
authors.forename: Brenda A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. klamy@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lamy
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. mfb.cmed@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matassa
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. mfb.cmed@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazzariol
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-2016, USA. semorris@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Sinead E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. mfb.cmed@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. mfb.cmed@gmail.com.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rotstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada. mfb.cmed@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Teresa K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Rowles
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. gullandf@tmmc.org.
authors.forename: Jeremy T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Saliki
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. katie.colegrove@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Siebert
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. sylvain.deguise@uconn.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Waltzek
authors.affiliation: Cetacean Conservation Medicine Group (CMED), Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru. r.deswart@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: James F X
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wellehan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D010872:Caniformia / Q000821:virology*; D004216:Distemper / Q000821:virology*; D018104:Distemper Virus, Phocine / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D010041:Otters / Q000821:virology