Herpesvirus in the Mediterranean, surveilling through stranded dolphins
Herpesvirus is widely distributed between cetaceans, but it is particularly prevalent in the Mediterranean sea.
In general, males seem to have higher incidence of this virus, with a greater number of positive tissues. The most affected areas are: genitalia, the cerebrum and skin tissues.
Gross necropsy finding in the male reproductive system of case 6 (Vargas-Castro et al., 2024)
Vargas-Castro, I., Giorda, F., Mattioda, V., Goria, M., Serracca, L., Varello, K., Carta, V., Nodari, S., Maniaci, M. G., Dell’Atti, L., Testori, C., Pussini, N., Iulini, B., Battistini, R., Zoppi, S., Nocera, F. D., Lucifora, G., Fontanesi, E., Acutis, P., Peletto, S. (2024). Herpesvirus surveillance in stranded striped dolphins (stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphins (tursiops truncatus) from italy with emphasis on neuropathological characterization. Plos One, 19(10), e0311767. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311767
