Antibodies toselected pathogens in free-rangingterrestrial carnivoresand marine mammals inCanada

Antibody titres toselected pathogens (canine adenovirus [CAV-2], feline herpesvirus [FHV], phocine herpesvirus [PHV-11, canine distemper virus, dolphin morbillivirus [DMV], phocine distemper virus [PDV], parainfluenza virus type3[P13], rabies virus, dolphin rhabdovirus [DRV], canine coronavirus, feline coronavirus, feline leukaemia virus, Borrelia burgdorferi andToxoplasma gondii) weredetermined inwhole blood orserumsamples fromselected free-ranging terrestrial carnivores andmarine mammals, including cougars (Felis concolor), lynxes (Felis lynx), American badgers (Taxidea taxus), fishers (Martes pennanti), wolverines (Gulo gulo), wolves (Canis lupus), black bears (Ursus americanus), grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), polar bears (Ursus maritimus), walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) andbelugas (Delphinapterus leucas), which hadbeencollected atseveral locations inCanada between 1984and2001. Antibodies toanumber ofviruses weredetected inspecies inwhich these infections havenotbeenreported before, forexample, antibodies to CAV-2 inwalruses, toPDVinblack bears, grizzly bears, polar bears, lynxes andwolves, toDMVingrizzly bears, polar bears, walruses andwolves, toP13inblack bears andfishers, andtoDRVinbelugas andwalruses. MASSmortalities duetovirus infections mayoccurinpreviously unaffected, andtherefore susceptible, populations of free-ranging terrestrial andaquatic carnivores. Epizootics resulting inmassmortalities caused byinfections with morbilliviruses (Osterhaus andothers 1990, Harder and others 1995, Roelke-Parker andothers 1996), herpesviruses (Osterhaus andothers 1985) andinfluenza viruses (Geraci andothers 1982) haveraised considerable public interest. Besides suchhigh-profile epizootic infections, several other pathogens mayinfluence population dynamics with less dramatic effects orinfect species that actasintermediate reservoirs, forexample, infections withcanine adenovirus