Word: morbilli
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...take long to track down the source of the infection. Laboratory tests revealed that it is a strain of morbilli, the same type of virus -- similar to the cause of canine distemper and human measles -- that killed some 20,000 North Sea seals in 1988. While viral epidemics are part of the natural ecology of the sea, some scientists think this outbreak was aggravated by man-made pollution. Autopsies on the mammals show their tissues are contaminated with metals and the toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCPs). The chemicals may have weakened the dolphins' immune systems, making the animals more vulnerable...