Conjunctivitis in Human Beings Caused by Influenza A Virus of Seals

Abstract

To the Editor: In December 1979, marine biologists at the New England Aquarium in Boston observed a sudden increase in the number of stranded and dead harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) on Cape Cod. Over the next nine months, approximately 500 seals were found dead, and post-mortem examination revealed acute hemorrhagic pneumonia in the animals. The disease has been associated with an influenza A virus that is antigenically similar to A/Fowl Plague/Dutch/27 (H7N7) (Geraci J. Personal communication) in association with a novel strain of mycoplasma (Ruhnke HL, Madoff S. Personal communication). During the studies, four people involved in autopsies . . .