tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Vet Sci
. 2026 Oct 20:13:1969182.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2026.1969182. eCollection 2026.
Mauricio Ulloa 1 2 , Víctor Neira 3 , Eva Sierra 2 , Ana Colom-Rivero 2 , Gabriela Muñoz 3 4 , Magdalena Johow 5 , Felipe Lillo 6 , Daniela Rojas 7 , René Ortega 7 , Raúl Alegría-Morán 8 , Antonio Fernández 2
Affiliations Expand
Between 2022 and 2023, a significant increase in mortality among marine birds and pinnipeds along the Pacific coasts of Peru and Chile was linked to the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV H5N1). In response, the Chilean Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA) initiated a survey to document cetacean strandings and assess the presence of HPAIV H5N1 via molecular analysis of swab samples. In 2023, 205 cetacean stranding events involving 281 individuals were recorded. Of the 27 sampled animals, four, comprising two Burmeister's porpoises (Phocoena spinipinnis) and two Chilean dolphins (Cephalorhynchus eutropia) from different locations, tested positive for HPAIV H5N1 in spiracle, rectal and genital swabs. Additionally, a necropsy performed on a long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), which had tested negative on swabs, revealed the presence of HPAIV H5N1 through PCR analysis of lung and brain tissues. Histopathological examination showed mild, multifocal lymphoplasmacytic-histiocytic and suppurative leptomeningitis, consistent with lesions associated with HPAIV H5N1 infection, although immunohistochemistry was negative. While the virus's pathogenic role in cetaceans remains inconclusive due to the limited number of necropsies performed, the detection of HPAIV H5N1 in five cetaceans (two porpoises and three dolphins), Four through external swabs -and one dolphin through internal organs-alongside with elevated mortality in birds and pinnipeds, suggests a potential association between cetacean strandings and HPAIV H5N1 outbreaks. This epidemiological finding warrants further investigation.
Keywords: H5N1 subtype; avian influenza virus; cetaceans; dolphins; highly pathogenic avian influenza; influenza A virus; porpoises.
. 2026 Oct 20:13:1969182.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2026.1969182. eCollection 2026.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 infection in stranded porpoises and dolphins in Chile
Mauricio Ulloa 1 2 , Víctor Neira 3 , Eva Sierra 2 , Ana Colom-Rivero 2 , Gabriela Muñoz 3 4 , Magdalena Johow 5 , Felipe Lillo 6 , Daniela Rojas 7 , René Ortega 7 , Raúl Alegría-Morán 8 , Antonio Fernández 2
Affiliations Expand
- PMID: 42979466
- PMCID: PMC13729797
- DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2026.1969182
Abstract
Between 2022 and 2023, a significant increase in mortality among marine birds and pinnipeds along the Pacific coasts of Peru and Chile was linked to the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV H5N1). In response, the Chilean Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA) initiated a survey to document cetacean strandings and assess the presence of HPAIV H5N1 via molecular analysis of swab samples. In 2023, 205 cetacean stranding events involving 281 individuals were recorded. Of the 27 sampled animals, four, comprising two Burmeister's porpoises (Phocoena spinipinnis) and two Chilean dolphins (Cephalorhynchus eutropia) from different locations, tested positive for HPAIV H5N1 in spiracle, rectal and genital swabs. Additionally, a necropsy performed on a long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), which had tested negative on swabs, revealed the presence of HPAIV H5N1 through PCR analysis of lung and brain tissues. Histopathological examination showed mild, multifocal lymphoplasmacytic-histiocytic and suppurative leptomeningitis, consistent with lesions associated with HPAIV H5N1 infection, although immunohistochemistry was negative. While the virus's pathogenic role in cetaceans remains inconclusive due to the limited number of necropsies performed, the detection of HPAIV H5N1 in five cetaceans (two porpoises and three dolphins), Four through external swabs -and one dolphin through internal organs-alongside with elevated mortality in birds and pinnipeds, suggests a potential association between cetacean strandings and HPAIV H5N1 outbreaks. This epidemiological finding warrants further investigation.
Keywords: H5N1 subtype; avian influenza virus; cetaceans; dolphins; highly pathogenic avian influenza; influenza A virus; porpoises.