Morbilliviral Dermatitis in Seals

• Published in: Veterinary Pathology
• Main Authors: Lipscomb, T. P., Mense, M. G., Habecker, P. L., Taubenberger, J. K., Schoelkopf, R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2001
• Subjects: Cystophora cristata; Harp Seal; hooded seal; Phoca groenlandica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1354/vp.38-6-724; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1354/vp.38-6-724; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1354/vp.38-6-724

A juvenile female hooded seal ( Cystophora cristata) and a juvenile male harp seal ( Phoca groenlandica) stranded separately on the New Jersey (USA) coast and were taken to a marine mammal rehabilitation center. Both were lethargic and emaciated, had dermatitis, and died. Histologic skin lesions in the seals were similar and consisted of epidermal and follicular epithelial hyperplasia, hyperkeratosis, degeneration, and necrosis. The most distinctive finding was extensive syncytial zones bounded superficially by hyperkeratosis and deeply by hyperplastic basal cells. Eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies were present in epithelial cells. Morbilliviral antigen was demonstrated in the skin lesions by immunohistochemistry. Phocine distemper virus was detected in the skin by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and a phocine distemper virus-specific probe using the Southern blot technique. This is the first report of morbilliviral dermatitis in marine mammals.