A review of pathogens in selected Baltic Sea indicator species

• Published in: Environment International
• Main Authors: Christian Sonne, Jan Lakemeyer, Jean-Pierre Desforges, Igor Eulaers, Sara Persson, Iben Stokholm, Anders Galatius, Stephanie Gross, Katharina Gonnsen, Kristina Lehnert, Emilie U. Andersen-Ranberg, Morten Tange Olsen, Rune Dietz, Ursula Siebert
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020
• Subjects: envir; demo; Anser brachyrhynchus; Common Eider; Haliaeetus albicilla; Harbour porpoise; harbour seal; Phoca vitulina; Phocoena phocoena; Pink-footed Goose; Pusa hispida; ringed seal; Somateria mollissima; White-tailed eagle
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105565; https://doaj.org/article/8a8a438307e340d3a9eeeb1b66761dbc

Here we review the state-of-the-art of pathogens in select marine and terrestrial key species of the Baltic Sea, i.e. ringed seal (Pusa hispida), harbour seal (Phoca vitulina), grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), common eider (Somateria mollissima), pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) and white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). This review is the first to merge and present available information and baseline data for the FP7 BONUS BaltHealth project: Baltic Sea multilevel health impacts on key species of anthropogenic hazardous substances. Understanding the spread, prevalence and effects of wildlife pathogens is important for the understanding of animal and ecosystem health, ecosystem function and services, as well as human exposure to zoonotic diseases. This review summarises the occurrence of parasites, viruses and bacteria over the past six decades, including severe outbreaks of Phocine Distemper Virus (PDV), the seroprevalence of Influenza A and the recent increase in seal parasites. We show that Baltic high trophic key species are exposed to multiple bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases. Parasites, such as C. semerme and P. truncatum present in the colon and liver Baltic grey seals, respectively, and anisakid nematodes require particular monitoring due to their effects on animal health. In addition, distribution of existing viral and bacterial pathogens, along with the emergence and spread of new pathogens, need to be monitored in order to assess the health status of key Baltic species. Relevant bacteria are Streptococcus spp., Brucella spp., Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Mycoplasma spp. and Leptospira interrogans; relevant viruses are influenza virus, distemper virus, pox virus and herpes virus. This is of special importance as some of the occurring pathogens are zoonotic and thus also pose a potential risk for human health. Marine mammal handlers, as well as civilians that by chance encounter marine mammals, need to be aware of this risk. It is therefore ...