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Volume 32, Number 2—February 2026

Dispatch

Neospora caninum Infection in Marine Mammals Stranding in Northeastern Pacific Ocean Region

Stephen A. Raverty, Pádraig Duignan, Dyanna M. Lambourn, Paul Cottrell, Verena A. Gill1, Pamela Tuomi, Lorraine Barbosa, Brendan Cottrell, Spencer L. Magargal, Amanda K. Gibson, Elizabeth R. Zhang, and Michael E. GriggComments to Author 
Author affiliation: Animal Health Center, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada (S.A. Raverty); The Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito, California, USA (P. Duignan, L. Barbosa); University of Calgary, Veterinary Medicine, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (P. Duignan); Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Lakewood, Washington, USA (D.M. Lambourn); Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (P. Cottrell); US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska, USA (V.A. Gill); Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, Alaska, USA (P. Tuomi); McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (B. Cottrell); National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA (S.L. Magargal, A.K. Gibson, E.R. Zhang, M.E. Grigg)

Main Article

Figure 2

Phylogenetic relationships among Neospora caninum–like species that circulate in a marine cycle compared with terrestrial-sourced species from study of N. caninum infection in marine mammals stranding in the northeastern Pacific Ocean region. Neighbor-joining consensus tree shows marine strains that commonly infect pinnipeds and terrestrial strains (GenBank accession numbers PX529932–8) that transferred from land to sea to infect 5 species of pinnipeds. Evolutionary distances computed using the Tamura-Nei genetic distance model at the complete internal transcribed spacer 1 locus. Tree inferred using the outgroup sequence from Hammondia heydorni to root the tree; 1,000 bootstrap values listed at supported nodes. NES, northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris); CSL, California sea lion (Zalophus californianus); HS, harbor seal (Phoca vitulina); GFS, Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi); SSL, Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus); SO, sea otter (Enhydra lutris).

Figure 2. Phylogenetic relationships among Neospora caninum–like species that circulate in a marine cycle compared with terrestrial-sourced species from study of N. caninum infection in marine mammals stranding in the northeastern Pacific Ocean region. Neighbor-joining consensus tree shows marine strains that commonly infect pinnipeds and terrestrial strains (GenBank accession numbers PX529932–8) that transferred from land to sea to infect 5 species of pinnipeds. Evolutionary distances computed using the Tamura-Nei genetic distance model at the complete internal transcribed spacer 1 locus. Tree inferred using the outgroup sequence from Hammondia heydorni to root the tree; 1,000 bootstrap values listed at supported nodes. NES, northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris); CSL, California sea lion (Zalophus californianus); HS, harbor seal (Phoca vitulina); GFS, Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi); SSL, Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus); SO, sea otter (Enhydra lutris).

Main Article

1Current affiliation: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, PRD/Alaska Region, US Department of Commerce, Anchorage, Alaska, USA.

Page created: January 26, 2026
Page updated: February 19, 2026
Page reviewed: February 19, 2026
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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