NOAA drill tests response to outbreak of seal virus

What would happen if a small native marine life population with limited genetic diversity were exposed to a fatal virus in Hawaii? Who would respond and how?

The remaining 1,100 endangered Hawaiian monk seals make up such a population that is at risk of being wiped out should such an outbreak occur in the Hawaiian Islands.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Monk Seal Research Program conducted a vaccination drill Wednesday through Friday on Oahu and in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to train 44 staff and volunteers for the possibility of morbillivirus, a widespread disease that has killed thousands of dolphins and seals in outbreaks in other parts of the world, striking Hawaii’s native seals.

Dr. Charles Littnan, lead scientist for the program, compared the need for the drill to those simulating emergency response to natural disasters.

"Emergency responders practice before a natural disaster happens," he said. All logistical needs must be in place, and all supplies must be ready.

This drill focused on Oahu, where six teams of one or two NOAA staffers and one to three volunteers rehearsed. In the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, five teams from two to four NOAA staffers with a total of 14 participated.

Participants ran through possible scenarios, such as whether to vaccinate a seal with a hook in its mouth.

Although no seals were inoculated during the drill, NOAA staffers held a demonstration for the media showing how it would use a 16- to 18-gauge needle delivered via a vaccination pole into the gluteus muscles of the seal.

Tens of thousands of seals in Europe have died from morbillivirus since the 1980s, and the virus has been detected in seals in the northeastern United States, NOAA says.

"The threat continues to worry us," Dr. Michelle Bar­bi­eri, NOAA Fisheries contract veterinarian, said. "The small population and limited genetic diversity makes us worry."

Hawaiian monk seals do not carry the antibodies for morbillivirus in their blood, so their immune systems are not likely to protect them.

Barbieri said the potential threat of the disease could come "through marine mammals that move through Hawaiian waters that may carry it. … It could be carried by whales, which move large distances."

"Exposure to morbillivirus has been detected in marine mammals in North Pacific and Alaskan waters, including those that live in Hawaiian waters, migrate through our region, or occasionally swim off-course from their natural habitat," NOAA Fisheries says on its website.

It could also come from interaction with dogs carrying distemper, a form of morbillivirus. Respiratory secretions and close contact could introduce the virus into the population of monk seals, Barbieri said. In July 2014 a dog attack killed a 2-week-old seal pup and injured four other seals at a remote beach on Kauai’s north shore.

Littnan said the drills measured how quickly the teams could vaccinate, measuring how long it would take them to get across the island, and allowed scientists to think on their feet.

"We’ve surveyed all the beaches and hundreds of seals across the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands," he said.

"They were incredibly successful in teaching us some important lessons," and will have a debriefing, then refine their plans to respond to a large-scale outbreak.