Identification of novel gammaherpesviruses in a South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) with ulcerative skin lesions

Abstract

There are few studies on pathogens affecting free-ranging pinnipeds from South America. We employed molecular techniques to identify a gammaherpesvirus infection by two putative novel herpesvirus species: Otariid herpesvirus 5 (OtHV-5), possibly associated with ulcerative cutaneous lesions, and Otariid herpesvirus 6 (OtHV-6) in a wild South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) that stranded alive in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. Here we provide new information regarding pinniped herpesviruses, important for the design of future disease surveillance studies.