Dolphin Morbillivirus Associated with a Mass Stranding of Sperm Whales, Italy

摘要

In September 2014, 7 sperm whales stranded along the Adriatic Italian coastlines. Postmortem investigations on 3 dead females dead and in 1 fetus harbored by the largest one revealed molecular and immunoistochemical evidences of dolphin morbillivirus infection. A possible role of the virus in the stranding event was considered.