RT Journal Article
T1 Systematic Determination of Herpesvirus in Free-Ranging Cetaceans Stranded in the Western Mediterranean: Tissue Tropism and Associated Lesions
A1 Vargas Castro, Ignacio
A1 Melero, Mar
A1 Crespo-Picazo, José Luis
A1 Jiménez Martínez, María de los Ángeles
A1 Sierra, Eva
A1 Rubio-Guerri, Consuelo
A1 Arbelo, Manuel
A1 Fernández, Antonio
A1 García-Párraga, Daniel
A1 Sánchez-Vizcaíno Rodríguez, José Manuel
AB 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.
PB MDPI
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95695
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95695
LA eng
NO Vargas-Castro, I., Melero, M., Crespo-Picazo, J. L., Jiménez, M. L. Á., Sierra, E., Rubio-Guerri, C., Arbelo, M., Fernández, A., García-Párraga, D., & Sánchez-Vizcaíno, J. M. (2021). Systematic Determination of Herpesvirus in Free-Ranging Cetaceans Stranded in the Western Mediterranean: Tissue Tropism and Associated Lesions. Viruses, 13(11), 2180. https://doi.org/10.3390/v13112180
NO Author ContributionsConceptualization, I.V.-C., M.M., M.A., A.F., D.G.-P., and J.M.S.-V.; methodology, M.M., J.L.C.-P., M.d.l.Á.J., E.S., C.R.-G., and M.A.; formal analysis, I.V.-C. and M.M.; investigation, I.V.-C., M.M., M.d.l.Á.J., and E.S.; writing—original draft preparation, I.V.-C., M.M., and M.d.l.Á.J.; writing review and editing, I.V.-C., M.M., J.L.C.-P., M.d.l.Á.J., E.S., C.R.-G., M.A., A.F., D.G.-P., and J.M.S.-V.; supervision, M.A., A.F., D.G.-P., and J.M.S.-V.; funding acquisition, M.A., A.F., D.G.-P., and J.M.S.-V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
NO Conselleria d’Agricultura, Desenvolupament Rural, Emergència Climàtica i Transició Ecològica de Valencia
NO Fundación Oceànografic de la Comunitat Valenciana
NO Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España)
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
NO Ministerio de Educación (España)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 6 abr 2025