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NEW JERSEY (CNN) --

A measles-like virus is being linked to the deaths of dozens of dolphins along the East Coast and scientists appear unable to stop it.

Scientists prepared to examine a bottlenose dolphin among the latest likely victims of morbillivirus.

Bottlenose dolphins, known for their graceful moves and high intelligence, are under attack by an invisible enemy that doesn't discriminate.

"There's no pattern really to either geographic or age or sex. It really seems to be an equal opportunity killer," said Lawrence Hajna, with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is paying a state lab to speed up necropsies and stepping up air and sea patrols.

Off the Jersey Shore, it would be very hard to see a dolphin that is dead or dying because they lie so low in the water.

If the state fish and wildlife patrol does spot one, they will tow it to shore for testing.

Through August, nearly 300 dolphins have died from New York to North Carolina. The highest numbers are in Virginia and New Jersey.

In 1987 and 1988, NOAA scientists suspected the same virus wiped out 740 bottlenose dolphins along the East Coast, about half the population.

Link:
New Jersey working to solve mystery of dolphin deaths