Cetacean morbillivirus | |
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Virus classification | |
(unranked): | Virus |
Realm: | Riboviria |
Kingdom: | Orthornavirae |
Phylum: | Negarnaviricota |
Class: | Monjiviricetes |
Order: | Mononegavirales |
Family: | Paramyxoviridae |
Genus: | Morbillivirus |
Species: | Cetacean morbillivirus
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Strains | |
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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]