ABSTRACT
The last decade of the 20th century saw an explosion in the recognition and characterization of viruses in marine mammals. In part, this increase can be attributed to heightened public concern with repeated morbillivirus epizootics in cetaceans and pinnipeds throughout the waters of the world. Success in studying marine mammals viruses has been dependent on laboratories maintaining primary pinniped and cetacean cell cultures for initial isolation of marine mammal viruses. Advances in biotechnology now allow amplification of viral genomes from tissues and detection of viral antigens with cross-reactive antibodies developed for use in better-characterized human and animal viruses. Undoubtedly, the more one looks, the more viruses will be found in marine mammals. For comprehensive reviews of marine mammal morbilliviruses, see Kennedy (1998) and Duignan (1999). For a comprehensive review of cetacean viruses, see Van Bressem et al. (1999b).
