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Grey Seal Research Paper

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On May 3rd, Dr. Morten Tange Olsen presented to us on the seal virus epidemic that took place in 2002 and was one of the biggest virus epidemics to ever take place in the world. The virus was found in two types of seals. The first type of seal that it was found in is the harbour seal, which is found in the Northern hemisphere. The second type of seal that the virus was found in is the grey seal, which at one point was very common in Denmark but was almost driven to extinction 150 years ago due to hunting. However, the grey seal has slowly began to repopulate on Danish shores and is making a comeback. The virus that is the cause of the seal epidemic is known as the phocine distemper virus (PDV) and has appeared at least twice. This type of virus has a history of leading to masses of seals dying. In the 1950s, tens of thousands of seals died as a result of the virus. In 1988, the virus was the cause of death for over 23,000 harbour seals and 30,000 deaths in 2002. In addition to seals, this virus can also be a …show more content…

Olsen shared with us that the virus was thought to be brought to the arctic by polar explorers who brought their dogs with them on their expeditions. However, it is not clear how the virus was able to transfer from the dogs to seals. In the 1980s and 2000s, the virus began to spread to Europe when it first showed up in Anholt, Denmark and then spread to other local waters. Eventually, the virus spread to every major cluster of harbour seals in Europe. Since seals do not move around much, it is thought the virus was spread through another specie that moved it around from cluster to cluster in different areas of Europe. Another possible explanation for the rapid spread of the virus across regions is through the grey seal, which is more known for long distance movements. One of the most interesting facts that Dr. Olsen shared is that the harbour seals on the Norwegian coast and the Baltics seemed to avoid the epidemics due to possible genetic

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