Abstract
., 2002;). The question arises whetherheavily exploited populations such as Peru’s smallodontocetes may suffer a leveraged, not simplyadditive, impact on its conservation status through aninteraction of fisheries-related sources of mortality andmorbidity with natural sources. This conservationconcern flags these populations as priority subjects forresearch. In this paper we report on a serologicalsurvey for poxvirus exposure in Peruvian cetaceans.A previous epidemiological survey indicated thatpoxviruses are endemic in Peruvian populations of
Highlights
A previous epidemiological survey indicated that poxviruses are endemic in Peruvian populations of L. obscurus, D. capensis, T. truncatus and P. spinipinnis (Van Bressem and Van Waerebeek, 1996)
Other cetacean poxviruses were recently detected in both captive cetaceans, such as Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), and in free-ranging rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphins (T. truncatus) from Florida
We tested for cowpox virus as a representative member of the genus Orthopoxvirus that infects mammals belonging to different orders, including Artiodactyla, which are phylogenetically closely related to cetaceans (Milinkovitch et al, 1998; Gatesy et al, 1999)
Summary
A previous epidemiological survey indicated that poxviruses are endemic in Peruvian populations of L. obscurus, D. capensis, T. truncatus and P. spinipinnis (Van Bressem and Van Waerebeek, 1996). On the basis of the brick-shaped morphology of cetacean poxviruses (Van Bressem et al, 1993) and the biology of Chordopoxvirinae, we hypothesized that the viruses infecting dolphins and porpoises from the Southeast Pacific may share antigens with members of the Orthopoxvirus genus.
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