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A virus similar to measles in humans has tentatively been identified as the cause of a massive dolphin die-off along mid-Atlantic states.

The possible killer is morbillivirus, which is common in some marine mammals, said officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

If the virus is indeed causing the deaths, its unclear why it has become so lethal this summer. Factors such as some other germ or a natural toxin could be contributing to the deaths, officials said.

Since July 1, 357 dolphins have turned up dead or dying from New York to North Carolina. Thats more than nine times the normal number for that period in that region.

More than two dozen of the dead animals have tested positive for the morbillivirus or are suspected of having had the virus.

An investigation is continuing, and it could take months.

Original post:
Measles-like virus seen as cause of dolphin deaths

By BROCK VERGAKIS Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Federal officials identified a virus Tuesday as the likely reason hundreds of bottlenose dolphins died along the East Coast, but they say there's little they can do to stop the deaths.

More than 330 dolphins have been stranded between New York and North Carolina since July 1, with nearly all of them dead by the time they wash up on shore, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

That's more than nine times the historical average for dolphin strandings in the region during July and August.

"Along the Atlantic seaboard, this is extraordinary," Teri Rowles, NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program coordinator, said in a conference call with reporters.

Earlier this month, NOAA declared an unusual mortality event so it could provide additional resources to study what was behind the rapid increase in deaths - more than half of which have occurred in Virginia. At the time, they suspected the cetacean morbillivirus was causing the deaths, just as it did during the last major dolphin die-off. In 1987 and 1988, the virus was blamed for causing 740 dolphin deaths between New Jersey and Florida.

Although research will continue, NOAA said it has collected enough evidence to declare the virus as the "tentative cause" in the most recent string of deaths as well. Morbillivirus is found in a broad range of mammals, and dolphins with it typically experience symptoms such as skin lesions, brain infections and pneumonia. The virus is usually spread through inhalation of respiratory particles or direct contact between animals, although officials said there's no risk of humans catching it. Bottlenose dolphins are typically found in groups of two to 15.

"At this point there isn't anything we can do to stop the virus," Rowles said. "We don't have a vaccine that is developed that could be easily deployed in a wild population of bottlenose dolphins or subpopulations."

Officials at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center said many of the dolphins washing up on the state's beaches are badly decomposed. State and federal officials say there are untold numbers of other dolphins that have also died and haven't washed ashore, likely making the total death count much higher.

"We've definitely gotten reports of floating carcasses that we were not able to recover - and there are plenty of those," said Margaret Lynott, the aquarium's stranding coordinator.

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NOAA: Virus likely causing dolphin deaths

Getty Images/Tom Ervin

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Below are some of the worst mosquito-borne illnesses. Currently, none of them have any treatments or vaccines.

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The Most Dangerous Animal On Earth Can Fit On Your Fingertip

ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- A measles-like virus is most likely responsible for 357 bottlenose dolphin deaths recorded through Monday of this year from New York to North Carolina, according to federal officials.

And the killer outbreak may linger into next spring, said Teri Rowles of the federal Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

"Along the Atlantic seaboard, this is extraordinary," Rowles told reporters on a teleconference call Tuesday.

Scientists have confirmed that 32 of 33 dolphins tested have morbillivirus, which is naturally occurring, or are suspected to have had morbillivirus infections, she said.

"So we are now calling this a morbillivirus outbreak that extends currently from New York through Virginia for confirmed cases," said Rowles, whose program is within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service. In North Carolina, morbillivirus is also suspected in four dolphins north of Cape Hatteras.

Other factors may have weakened the dolphins' immune systems, making them more vulnerable to sickness. They include chemicals, other disease-causing microbes, biotoxins and expansion of the dolphins' range, according to officials and experts. The investigation is ongoing.

The dolphin die-off comes a quarter-century after 742 dead bottlenose dolphins were discovered along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Florida. Morbillivirus was eventually linked to their deaths in 1987-88, according to officials.

New Jersey death toll

This year's death toll in New Jersey is 72 through Monday, according to Maggie Mooney-Seus, spokeswoman for NOAA Fisheries.

But Robert Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, said he has counted 74 since July 9, the most recent of which was a badly decomposed, shark-scavenged dolphin carcass found at Cape May Point on Monday.

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East Coast dolphin deaths linked to virus

A virus similar to measles in humans is the likely killer of hundreds of East Coast dolphins, officials said Tuesday.

The tentative cause is morbillivirus, which caused a similar die-off in 1987-88, the officials said.

We are now calling this a morbillivirus outbreak, said Teri Rowles, a marine mammal expert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The dolphin virus does not pose a threat to people, experts said in a telephone news conference.

The outbreak, originally stretching from New York to Virginia, has spread to North Carolina and could reach Florida as some infected animals make their normal fall migrations to the south, the experts said.

Since July 357 bottlenose dolphins have turned up dead or dying more than nine times the normal number for that period in that New York-to-North Carolina region.

Virginia has been hit hardest with 186 deaths, possibly because the state has a large dolphin population in summer. Virginia normally has about a dozen dolphin deaths in the two months.

Weve been seeing all age classes in both males and females among the dead, said Margaret Lynott, stranding-response manager for the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach.

The nonprofit aquarium is home to Virginias sole program for responding to the stranded dolphins.

Its possible the outbreak is the result of dolphin populations that harbor the virus and a degree of resistance coming into contact with populations with little resistance, experts said.

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Virus is main suspect in dolphin deaths