Italy, Another dolphin carcass found at Capoliveri (Il Tirreno, March 23 2013, edited)

[Giuseppe]

[Source: Il Tirreno, full text in Italian: http://iltirreno.gelocal.it/piombino...veri-1.6746521 - Translated by the Mod., edited.]


Another dolphin carcass found at Capoliveri


The animal carcass was identified as a member of ''Stenella coeruleoalba'' (Striped Dolphin), of 1.70 meters of lenght. The decaying carcass was found on Madonna delle Grazie beach.

The dolphins die-off is continuing on Tuscany beaches: another animal belonging to 'Stenella' species was found on Elba Island beach.

The carcass has been found this morning on Capoliveri beach by a restaurant owner.

Since the beginning of the year, there were 87 animals found dead on Tuscany coastline...

(...)

[Note from the Mod.(GM): Other news outlets said that preliminary veterinary examinations on deceased Dolphins identified Morbillivirus as one among the possible cause of current mass die-off.]


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[Giuseppe]

Re: Italy, Another dolphin carcass found at Capoliveri (Il Tirreno, March 23 2013, edited)

Source: ProMedMail.org: http://www.promedmail.org/direct.php...130421.1661903 - Extract.


Published Date: 2013-04-21 14:01:34
Subject: PRO> Undiagnosed deaths, dolphin - Italy: morbillivirus susp.
Archive Number: 20130421.1661903

UNDIAGNOSED DEATHS, DOLPHIN - ITALY: MORBILLIVIRUS SUSPECTED
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A ProMED-mail post http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases http://www.isid.org

Date: Wed 17 Apr 2013

Source: La Razon, Agencia EFE report [in Spanish, trans. Mod.PMB, edited] http://www.larazon.es/detalle_normal...r#.UXPox7VLNmN


Italian coasts have been the scenario of the stranding of over 100 dead dolphins, explained the Italian Ministry of Environment. Although many hypothesis were considered, there is still uncertainty regarding what caused the demise of 101 striped dolphins (_Stenella coeruleoalba_).

The last report was on 8 Apr 2013, in Cetraro Porto, Cosenza province, but the regions more affected by this episode are Lazio and Toscana, where 31 and 29 carcasses were found, respectively.

According to official databases, the magnitude of the episode is 8 times greater than the annual average dolphin stranding of the last 20 years.

Researchers of the Ministry of Environment suggested that the outbreak could be caused by dolphin morbillivirus (DMV), boosted by food scarcity, which weakens and puts them at greater risk of contracting different diseases.

Another hypothesis is that the population of these dolphins has grown considerably in recent years, which has forced them to inhabit less appropriate habitats.

However, necropsies do not show alterations in the tissues of the animals or signs of disease.

For the time being, the Ministry of Environment is inclined to believe it is a combination of both hypotheses.
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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) has been reported as the culprit of dolphin mortalities in the past. Indeed, several dolphin die-offs have been attributed to this pathogen, including Mediterranean striped dolphins (_Stenella coeruleoalba_) in 1990 and 1991.

The striped dolphin is an extensively studied cetacean that is found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans. A picture of a striped dolphin can be seen at http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7245/7...2af37ce4_z.jpg.

See below the list of ProMED-mail posts that report other recent and mostly unsolved dolphin die-offs around the world. We might be witnessing another consequence of human activity and global environmental change on wildlife health.

Most likely, the culprit is not a single one but many interacting in synergy.

For example, it might be a disease outbreak boosted by an impoverishment of the condition of dolphins due to pollution. In 2009 there was a dolphin die-off in the Black Sea and a morbillivirus was suspected. - Mod.PMB
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/6rIs.]

(...)


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