UC Santa Cruz researchers say densovirus may be responsible for wiping out West Coast starfish
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [San Francisco Chronicle] by Peter Fimrite - November 18, 2014
Scientists have identified a virus that they believe is the mysterious killer that is wiping out starfish along the Pacific coast, but they can't figure out why it suddenly became so deadly or whether it will continue its reign of destruction.
The pathogen believed responsible for causing millions of sea stars along the coast of California to wither and die was identified as a densovirus, a type of parvovirus, researchers at UC Santa Cruz and Cornell University said Monday.The disease was found not only in the tissues of its victims, but in brittle stars, which are closely related, and sea urchins.
It was also in seawater and sediments collected from affected areas, including Santa Cruz and Monterey, according to a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...
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