A review of the 1988 and 2002 phocine distemper virus epidemics in European harbour seals

• Published in: Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
• Main Authors: Härkönen, L., Dietz, R., Reijnders, P.J.H., Teilmann, J., Harding, K., Hall, A., Brasseur, S.M.J.M., Siebert, U., Goodman, S.J., Jepson, P.D., Rasmussen, T.D., Thompson, P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: flame retardants; grey seals; halichoerus-grypus; immune-responses; marine mammals; mass mortality; morbillivirus infection; organochlorine contaminants; population-dynamics; western atlantic; Arctic; Danish Island; Kattegat; harbour seal; Phoca vitulina
• Online Access: https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/a-review-of-the-1988-and-2002-phocine-distemper-virus-epidemics-i; https://doi.org/10.3354/dao068115

We present new and revised data for the phocine distemper virus (PDV) epidemics that resulted in the deaths of more than 23 000 harbour seals Phoca vitulina in 1988 and 30 000 in 2002. On both occasions the epidemics started at the Danish island of Anholt in central Kattegat, and subsequently spread...