Vaccinations are a topic of great interest in our world these days–not only for humans but Hawaiian monk seals, too.
A few years ago, heading off the threat of a family of viruses known as morbillivirus, NOAA began an effort to vaccinate the majority of the entire Hawaiian monk seal population.
Morbillivirus is highly infectious disease that, in humans, accounts for measles and, in pet dogs, results in distemper. It spreads via respiratory secretions. Morbillivirus is no stranger to marine mammals, either. Outbreaks of morbilliviruses have killed tens of thousands of dolphins and seals worldwide.
There is little genetic diversity among Hawaiia monk seals, and research shows that monk seals do not carry antibodies to morbillivirus in their blood, so their immune systems are not likely to protect them from contracting the disease. With an estimated 1,400 Hawaiian monk seals, one such outbreak could be devastating to the recovery of the species.
Like the current vaccines rolling out for COVID-19, the ones used to inoculate monk seals require two shots–the initial dosage followed by a booster a couple weeks later.
Last year, with COVID-19, the usual routine of vaccinating Hawaiian monk seal weaners when they were flipper-tagged was put on hold, like so many things in our world. Well, last week, two of the monk seal pups born in 2020–PK1 (bleach-marked V00) and pK2 (bleach-marked V02)–were vaccinated against morbillivirus.
For more about the rollout of the morbillivirus monk seal vaccination plan, read here.
Here are some recent photos of PK1. (Photo credit: J. Thomton.)
Kaua'i Seals 