Pathology of stranded beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence Estuary, Québec, Canada

HERPESVIRUS-ASSOCIATED GENITAL LESIONS IN A STRANDED STRIPED DOLPHIN (STENELLA COERULEOALBA) IN THE CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN

“…Herpesvirus infections have been described in five families of cetaceans: Phocoenidae, Monodontidae, Delphinidae, Kogiidae, and Ziphiidae (Martineau et al 1988;Smolarek Benson et al 2006;Arbelo et al 2010Arbelo et al , 2012. These viruses in cetaceans have been associated with localized infections of the skin and genital mucosa and with systemic or organ system infections.…”

“…Alphaherpesviruses have been more commonly associated with skin lesions and systemic infections in cetaceans, whereas gammaherpesviruses were more frequently found in genital wounds. Skin lesions have been attributed to a herpesvirus etiology in cetacean species by three diagnostic criteria: 1) their gross or histologic appearance (Greenwood et al 1974;Baker 1992;Baker and Martin 1992), 2) ultrastructural demonstration of herpeslike viral particles (Martineau et al 1988;Barr et al 1989;Van Bressem et al 1994), and 3) molecular criteria (Smolarek Benson et al 2006;Sierra et al 2014). Genital herpesvirus lesions have been described associated with plaquelike or proliferative wounds in bottlenose and Risso's dolphins (Tursiops truncatus and Grampus griseus; Smolarek Benson et al 2006), two Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris; Saliki et al 2006;Smolarek Benson et al 2006), and a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas; Bellehumeur et al 2015).…”

Occurrence of Vertebral Osteophytosis in a Museum Sample of White-Beaked Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus Albirostris) From Danish Waters

“…Pathologic new bone formation in the vertebral column has been reported in many cetacean species including harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena; Kinze, 1986;Baker and Martin, 1992;Kompanje, 1995a), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates; Kompanje, 1995a), white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris; van Bree and Nijssen, 1964;van Bree and Duguy, 1970;Kompanje, 1995a,b), longfinned pilot whales (Globicephala melas; Cowan, 1966), belugas (Delphinapterus leucas; Martineau et al, 1988), Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni; Paterson, 1984), and undetermined species (Lagier, 1977) under diverse diagnoses. The most common diagnosis is spondylosis deformans (discarthrosis), a degeneration of the annulus fibrosis of the intervertebral disk leading to secondary bone formation.…”

Fibroleiomyomas of the Tubular Genitalia in Female Beluga Whales

“…The major finding was a prevalence of 16% malignant neoplasms (n ϭ 85) associated with high levels of tissue chemical contaminants. 7,17 However, with the exception of 1 adenocarcinoma of the uterus 15 and a vaginal leiomyoma (S. DeGuise, unpublished), tumors of the lower female reproductive tract were not found. This report documents the occurrence of fibroleiomyomas of the tubular genitalia (FTG) in 6 of 9 adult female beluga whales examined from 1996 to 1998.…”