Detection and Preliminary Characterization of Phocine Distemper Virus in a Stranded Harp Seal () from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.

Abstract

A lethargic juvenile male harp seal () in poor nutritional condition was found on the beach on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, Canada, in June 2017. Microscopic examination revealed a severe nonsuppurative encephalitis positive for morbillivirus antigen on immunohistochemistry. Virus isolation attempts were negative. However, phocine distemper virus (PDV) was detected in brain tissue RNA extracts by a seminested reverse transcription PCR that targeted the paramyxovirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase () gene. Comparison of the resulting partial PDVnucleotide sequence revealed it was nearly identical to PDV strains isolated from eastern Atlantic harbor seals () during a 1988 epizootic in the Wadden and Irish seas, and a western Atlantic harbor seal () that stranded in Maine, US, in 2006. Our study confirmed that closely related PDV strains are circulating in multiple seal species along the coastlines of North America and Europe.