From Wikipedia - Reading time: 5 min
| Cetacean morbillivirus | |
|---|---|
| Virus classification | |
| (unranked): | Virus |
| Realm: | Riboviria |
| Kingdom: | Orthornavirae |
| Phylum: | Negarnaviricota |
| Class: | Monjiviricetes |
| Order: | Mononegavirales |
| Family: | Paramyxoviridae |
| Genus: | Morbillivirus |
| Species: | Morbillivirus ceti
|
| Strains | |
| |
Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) is a virus that infects marine mammals in the order Cetacea, which includes dolphins, porpoises and whales.[1] Three genetically distinct strains have been identified: dolphin morbillivirus (DMV), pilot whale morbillivirus (PWMV) and porpoise morbillivirus (PMV).[2] Symptoms of infection are often a severe combination of pneumonia, encephalitis and damage to the immune system, which greatly impair the cetacean's ability to swim and stay afloat unassisted.[3][4] Since its discovery in 1987, CeMV has been responsible for numerous epizootics of mass mortality in cetacean populations.[3] Epizootics of CeMV can be easily identified by a significant increase in the number of stranded cetaceans on beaches and shores.[5]