Frequency of exposure of endangered Caspian seals to Canine distemper virus, Leptospira interrogans, and Toxoplasma gondii

PLoS One. 2018 Apr 26;13(4):e0196070. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196070. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Canine distemper virus (CDV), Leptospira interrogans, and Toxoplasma gondii are potentially lethal pathogens associated with decline in marine mammal populations. The Caspian Sea is home for the endangered Caspian seal (Pusa caspica). In the late 1990s and early 2000s, CDV caused a series of mortality events involving at least several thousand Caspian seals. To assess current infection status in Caspian seals, we surveyed for antibodies to three pathogens with potential to cause mortality in marine mammals. During 2015-2017, we tested serum samples from 36, apparently healthy, Caspian seals, accidentally caught in fishing nets in the Caspian Sea off Northern Iran, for antibodies to CDV, L. interrogans, and T. gondii, by virus neutralization, microscopic agglutination, and modified agglutination, respectively. Twelve (33%), 6 (17%), and 30 (83%) samples were positive for CDV, L. interrogans and T. gondii antibodies, respectively. The highest titers of CDV, L. interrogans, and T. gondii antibodies were 16, 400, and 50, respectively. Frequencies of antibody to these pathogens were higher in seals >1 year old compared to seals <1 year old. Two serovars of L. interrogans (Pomona and Canicola) were detected. Our results suggest a need for additional studies to clarify the impact of these pathogens on Caspian seal population decline and the improvement of management programs, including systematic screening to detect and protect the remaining population from disease outbreaks.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aging
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Antibodies, Protozoan / blood
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood
  • Distemper / epidemiology
  • Distemper / pathology
  • Distemper / virology
  • Distemper Virus, Canine / immunology*
  • Distemper Virus, Canine / pathogenicity
  • Dogs
  • Leptospira interrogans / immunology*
  • Leptospira interrogans / pathogenicity
  • Leptospirosis / epidemiology
  • Leptospirosis / pathology
  • Leptospirosis / veterinary
  • Seals, Earless / microbiology
  • Seals, Earless / parasitology
  • Seals, Earless / virology*
  • Toxoplasma / immunology*
  • Toxoplasma / pathogenicity
  • Toxoplasmosis, Animal / epidemiology
  • Toxoplasmosis, Animal / parasitology
  • Toxoplasmosis, Animal / pathology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Antibodies, Protozoan
  • Antibodies, Viral

Grants and funding

This project was supported by Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources (Grant No. 95-354-84) to SN and Caspian Seal Treatment and Research Center which is under support of Lennie't Hart from the Netherlands to ASS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.