Abstract
Various herpesviruses have been discovered in marine mammals, associated with a wide spectrum of diseases.1-3 In the present study we describe the detection and phylogenetic analysis of a novel gammaherpesvirus, tentatively called phocine herpesvirus 7 (PhHV-7), that was detected in samples collected during an outbreak of ulcerative gingivitis and glossitis from juvenile harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) at the Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre, the Netherlands. The presence of this novel gammaherpesvirus was confirmed by viral metagenomics, while no other viruses except four novel anelloviruses were detected. However, PhHV-7 DNA was also detected in harbor and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) without gingivitis or glossitis. Genetic analysis of the partial polymerase gene of PhHV-7 detected in both species revealed limited sequence variation. Additional studies are needed to elucidate whether the discovered viruses played a role in the observed disease.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Peter van Run for excellent technical assistance. This work was financially supported in part by a grant from the Niedersachsen-Research Network on Neuroinfectiology (N-RENNT) of the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Germany. The authors thank the SRRC staff members, interns and volunteers who participated in the sample collection.
* Presenting author
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