Systematic Determination of Herpesvirus in Free-Ranging Cetaceans Stranded in the Western Mediterranean: Tissue Tropism and Associated Lesions
Ignacio Vargas-Castro,
Mar Melero,
José Luis Crespo-Picazo,
María de los Ángeles Jiménez,
Eva Sierra,
Consuelo Rubio-Guerri,
Manuel Arbelo,
Antonio Fernández,
Daniel García-Párraga,
José Manuel Sánchez-Vizcaíno
Affiliations
Ignacio Vargas-Castro
VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre and Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Mar Melero
VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre and Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
José Luis Crespo-Picazo
Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, 46013 Valencia, Spain
María de los Ángeles Jiménez
Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Eva Sierra
Division of Veterinary Histology and Pathology, Institute for Animal Health, Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35416 Canary Islands, Spain
Consuelo Rubio-Guerri
VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre and Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Manuel Arbelo
Division of Veterinary Histology and Pathology, Institute for Animal Health, Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35416 Canary Islands, Spain
Antonio Fernández
Division of Veterinary Histology and Pathology, Institute for Animal Health, Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35416 Canary Islands, Spain
Daniel García-Párraga
Research Department, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, 46013 Valencia, Spain
José Manuel Sánchez-Vizcaíno
VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre and Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
The monitoring of herpesvirus infection provides useful information when assessing marine mammals’ health. This paper shows the prevalence of herpesvirus infection (80.85%) in 47 cetaceans stranded on the coast of the Valencian Community, Spain. Of the 966 tissues evaluated, 121 tested positive when employing nested-PCR (12.53%). The largest proportion of herpesvirus-positive tissue samples was in the reproductive system, nervous system, and tegument. Herpesvirus was more prevalent in females, juveniles, and calves. More than half the DNA PCR positive tissues contained herpesvirus RNA, indicating the presence of actively replicating virus. This RNA was most frequently found in neonates. Fourteen unique sequences were identified. Most amplified sequences belonged to the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily, but a greater variation was found in Alphaherpesvirinae sequences. This is the first report of systematic herpesvirus DNA and RNA determination in free-ranging cetaceans. Nine (19.14%) were infected with cetacean morbillivirus and all of them (100%) were coinfected with herpesvirus. Lesions similar to those caused by herpesvirus in other species were observed, mainly in the skin, upper digestive tract, genitalia, and central nervous system. Other lesions were also attributable to concomitant etiologies or were nonspecific. It is necessary to investigate the possible role of herpesvirus infection in those cases.
