Central nervous system disease and genital disease in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are associated with different herpesviruses

Abstract

Herpesvirus infections can cause disease of variable severity in many species, including cetaceans [1]. The most common small cetacean species in the North Sea is the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) [2, 3]. This population of harbor porpoises is still vulnerable, according to IUCN criteria [4]. Therefore, monitoring of and research into morbidity and mortality factors is important for the conservation of the population. Specifically, trends in both prevalence and severity of herpesvirus infection potentially may provide information on changes in immune status of the harbor porpoise population, as these are known to increase when immune competence decreases [5, 6].