Public health warning as cat parasite spreads to Arctic beluga whales

A Beluga whale swimming underneath ice at the Arctic Circle dive center in the White Sea, northern Russia. Photograph: Franco Banfi/Barcroft Media

A dangerous parasite spread by domestic cats has been found in beluga whales in the Arctic.

The discovery of Toxoplasma gondii in the marine mammals has led researchers to issue a public wellness warning to Inuit populations who consume beluga whalemeat in dried strips and stews.

Though cooking the meat destroys the parasite, the infection could be spread when folks prepare meals and fail to wash their hands afterwards.

Toxoplasma is a single of the most productive pathogens on Earth. The bug infects an estimated third of the world population. In the United kingdom, the Foods Requirements Agency estimates 350,000 individuals turn into contaminated each year.

The infection is harmless in most situations, but ten% of men and women create flu signs or far more critical eye problems that can lead to blindness. The infection has also been linked to schizophrenia and other bipolar ailments.

Pregnant ladies are particularly at threat, as the parasite can influence heart and brain growth in foetuses, and set off miscarriages and stillbirths.

Prof Michael Grigg at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver stated exams on hundreds of beluga whales in the Beaufort Sea, on the edge of the Arctic, uncovered that 14% of the creatures harboured the infection. The exams are the first to present the infection has reached the region.

“This is now emerging in the Arctic and there is not a lot we can do about that. This is the new standard,” explained Grigg. The infected whales did not appear sick, but Grigg said that his staff might not be finding animals created sick by the infection.

The most most likely lead to of the outbreak was contaminated cat faeces washing into waterways and on to the sea, the place fish and other marine organisms became contaminated and ultimately eaten by the whales.

Offered that water supplies might be contaminated, the Inuit populations have been suggested to filter or boil their water to destroy the parasite. The organism is hardy, and will survive immersion in chlorine or sulphuric acid, but can be killed by heat, desiccation or freezing.

The rise in pet cats among the Inuit and a warming climate which helps the pathogen survive until it finds a host could be to blame for the emergence of the infection, Grigg advised the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago.

“Ice is a major eco-barrier for pathogens. What we are seeing with the massive thaw is the liberation of pathogens gaining access to vulnerable new hosts and wreaking havoc,” he added.

Belugas are killed by the Inuit as portion of a subsistence hunt and limits are imposed on the catches. However some populations are endangered, other individuals, such as the thirty,000 or so in Hudson Bay, are not. The population of in Canadian waters is estimated at 70,000 to 140,000. A single whale can feed one hundred men and women.

“The Inuit’s classic processing and cooking methods need to be ample to kill Toxoplasma but vulnerable populations like pregnant girls want to be extra vigilant all around handling and consuming raw whalemeat,” said Grigg.

In separate work, the exact same researchers identified a pathogen that triggered a mass die-off of grey seals in the north Atlantic in 2012. The parasite, named Sarcocystis, was previously found only in the coldest northern waters. Further exams since have discovered that the exact same parasite has killed Steller sea lions, seals, Hawaiian monk seals, walruses, and polar and grizzly bears in Alaska and British Columbia.

Public health warning as cat parasite spreads to Arctic beluga whales