This afternoon, the SRRC will be vaccinating the first rehabilitated seals against Phocine Distemper Virus (PDV). The SRRC does not keep any seals in captivity permanently; all seals are returned to the sea. At the moment they can only be released if they are protected against PDV, which has struck again. At the moment there are 38 seal pups at the centre: Babies who have lost their mother and are still unable to catch their own fish. There are also 14 one-year-old seals, two adult seals and one grey seal.
During the last few months, the yearlings all arrived at the SRRC suffering from lungworm related problems. They were on the point of being released, but will now have to stay at the SRRC for another month until the vaccine has started to work. The animals must be vaccinated twice. The baby seals will not be released until September, by which time they will also be protected by the vaccine.
Luckily, we were able to discover after the first outbreak in 1988, in cooperation with dr Ab Osterhaus – who was then working for the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) in Bilthoven, which virus caused PDV. A vaccine was then developed, which we can now start using immediately. The vaccine is being prepared at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, where Osterhaus is now professor of virology.
In 2002, the first seal with PDV was found on Vlieland. But the mass mortality started approximately 3 weeks after the outbreak in Anholt, Denmark.
The ‘winter pavilion’ (the tent which was used last winter for the many young grey seals) will be equipped as a fully isolated, totally quarantined, separate unit for seals which arrive with the virus. That will offer the rehabilitated animals the best possible chance of survival and it will not endanger any animals not carrying the virus.06-26-2007 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
