Cetacean morbillivirus is a virus in the same family as the human measles virus and was first found in dolphins in the late 1980s. Since then, there has been one other large dolphin die-off, in 1987, when over 700 dolphins died from the virus. Dolphin measles spreads much like human measles, including through direct contact and inhalation of respiratory particles. However, unlike human measles, there is no vaccine for the dolphin disease.
Experts have evaluated about 27 dolphins and every one tested positive for the virus, which has resulted in the morbillivirus tentatively being blamed for the die-off, but scientists continue to investigate. If measles is to blame, researchers will also look for the cause of the outbreak, which could range from environmental factors – like the algae bloom of 1987, which may have contributed to that outbreak – or natural waves of immunity among dolphin populations….
