In 2010, a unique virus was detected in a Longman’s beaked whale stranded at Hamoa beach in Hana. The disease, dubbed beaked whale circovirus (BWCV), has since been detected in ten different whale and dolphin species across the Pacific, according to researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi Health and Stranding Lab.
“We were surprised to find just how many different species and how many animals overall were infected with BWCV, with 50 percent of the animals testing positive for this virus,” said UH PhD student Cody Clifton. “Our research approach targeted animals for testing that we knew exhibited signs of sickness, but such a high rate of detection was unexpected.” The majority of animals that tested positive for the disease were near the Hawaiian islands, though cases stretched as far as Saipan and American Samoa.
While BWCV is potentially fatal, more study is needed to determine how much of a threat it poses to cetaceans. The whale that washed up on Maui was infected with other pathogens.
“We need to understand the causes of mortality and the threats that Hawaiʻi’s dolphins and whales face to better protect these species,” said UH Health and Stranding Lab Director Kristi West. “Many of Hawaiʻi’s dolphins and whales are residents of small island-associated populations where a disease outbreak that causes severe illness and mortality can have devastating effects.”
