During 2011-2013, dolphin morbillivirus was molecularly identified in 4 stranded fin whales from the Mediterranean Sea. Nucleoprotein, phosphoprotein, and hemagglutinin gene sequences of the identified strain were highly homologous with those of a morbillivirus that caused a 2006-2007 epidemic in the Mediterranean. Dolphin morbillivirus represents a serious threat for fin whales.
Keywords: Balaenoptera physalus; Mediterranean Sea; Mediterranean fin whales; Morbillivirus; dolphin morbillivirus; fin whales; hemagglutinin gene; morbillivirus infection; nucleoprotein gene; outbreak; phosphoprotein gene; viruses.