Characterization of morbilliviruses isolated from dolphins and porpoises in Europe

• Main Authors: Ilona K. G. Visser, Marie-franfoise Van Bressem, Rik L. De Swart, L Helma, W. Vos, Jeremiah T. Saliki, Claes Orvell, Paul Kitching, Tom Barrett, Seal Rehabilitation, Hoofdstraat A, Ag Pieterburen, Laboratory Of Immunobiology
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1993
• Subjects: Phocoena phocoena
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.552.7977; http://vir.sgmjournals.org/content/74/4/631.full.pdf

A previously unidentified morbiUivirus was isolated from two harbour porpoises,(Phocoena phocoena) that had died in the Dutch Waddensea (North Sea) in 1990. This porpoise morbiUivirus (PMV) and a dolphin morbillivirus (DMV), which had recently caused a heavy mortality in Mediterranean striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), were compared antigenically with other members of the genus Morbillivirus, including the newly recognized phocine distemper virus type 1. DMV and PMV proved to be similar but distinct morbilliviruses, closely related to rinderpest virus and peste-des-petits-ruminants virus. Cell cultures of cetacean, pinniped, ruminant and canine origin showed a different pattern of susceptibility to DMV and PMV infection. Ruminants and dogs proved to be susceptible to experimental