Test North Atlantic Right Whales For Zika by Rose Coffee Mug
Based on phylogenetics, it is likely that Zika is infecting North Atlantic right whales. My PSA (just published) connects the dots (with studies): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrSuDXGKaNY&t
After I read that:
"Scientists aren't ready to entirely blame ships and fishing gear, and are concerned that something else might be happening.
They've been concerned there weren't as many calves and that perhaps the whales are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence because their food supplies in other areas aren't enough to sustain them, or that maybe another health factor is making them more susceptible to other stressors — like ships."
I recalled that whales can be infected by encephalitis viruses. Study sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15566723
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/8/10-1979_article
And I believe Wolbachia-infected Aedes eggs and larvae in the waters of southeastern U.S. and areas around northeastern Brazil (and wherever right whales "winter" are the problem). When Culex mosquitoes naturally acquire Wolbachia (and there are multiple ways this can happen), they were better vectors of West Nile virus and malaria.
Study sources: http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0002965
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royprsb/281/1779/20132837.full.pdf
All images used were in the public domain except for Little Greenbul by Ettore Balocchi on flickr (CC-by-2.0).
NOTE: Half of my royalties will help fund ethical Zika research and my documentary.
$13.70
 connects the dots (with studies): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrSuDXGKaNY&t
After I read that:
"Scientists aren't ready to entirely blame ships and fishing gear, and are concerned that something else might be happening.
They've been concerned there weren't as many calves and that perhaps the whales are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence because their food supplies in other areas aren't enough to sustain them, or that maybe another health factor is making them more susceptible to other stressors — like ships."
I recalled that whales can be infected by encephalitis viruses. Study sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15566723
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/8/10-1979_article
And I believe Wolbachia-infected Aedes eggs and larvae in the waters of southeastern U.S. and areas around northeastern Brazil (and wherever right whales "winter" are the problem). When Culex mosquitoes naturally acquire Wolbachia (and there are multiple ways this can happen), they were better vectors of West Nile virus and malaria.
Study sources: http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0002965
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royprsb/281/1779/20132837.full.pdf
All images used were in the public domain except for Little Greenbul by Ettore Balocchi on flickr (CC-by-2.0).
NOTE: Half of my royalties will help fund ethical Zika research and my documentary.)
