Introduction & Objectives

Determining cause of death when cetaceans strand is needed to dispel misinformation and ensure accurate public understanding of stranding cause. This is especially relevant in areas that are critical to Navy training and testing operations such as the Mariana and Hawaiian Islands. Prior work of the Health and Stranding Lab has demonstrated that infectious disease poses a significant threat to Pacific Island cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), with natural disease accounting for 62% of stranded cetaceans that were examined with significant pathology. 

Technical Approach

Studying infectious diseases involves both direct and indirect measures of the presence of pathogens and their impact. Direct and indirect methods of investigating disease are complementary, improving understanding of the factors that contribute to animal mortality. Direct methods often rely on detection of the pathogen of interest itself by using procedures that directly stain the pathogen in infected tissues, grow the pathogen from tissue cultures, or amplify the minute amounts of genetic material of the disease present in infected tissues through conventional and quantitative PCR. Indirect methods of disease research rely on detection of an animal’s response to an infection. This includes serology, which allows for indirect study of diseases by testing for the presence of disease specific antibodies in the bloodstream that are generated in response to exposure to the pathogen of interest. Specific indirect testing methodologies include agglutination tests, immunofluorescent response, Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

Progress & Results