Late last night, a mature male pygmy sperm whale stranded on Floridana Beach near Vero Beach, Florida, and the whale was transported by the Harbor Branch Dolphin Rescue Group to the Dolphin and Whale Hospital for rehabilitation.  He arrived at about 12:30 am.  A blood sample, bacterial cultures and an EKG were taken and a gastroscopy was performed before he was placed in the 30 foot medical tank.  He is suffering from gastric ulcers, gastric stasis, dehydration, emaciation, stomach parasites, fluids in the lungs and has high liver and kidney enzyme levels.  He also has a low white count.  He is being treated with antibiotics, a diuretic, a gastric stimulant, and lots of oral fluids to correct the dehydration.  He is being supported 24 hours a day at this time.  His symptoms are almost identical to those of Hutch, another pygmy sperm whale that was treated here at DWH a couple of weeks ago.  We are concerned that this may be something contagious that may be going through the population of whales in the Atlantic.

13 Mar 00, 1515 hrs.  The pygmy sperm whale that arrived early this morning died.  A necropsy will be performed at Mote tomorrow morning to determine as much about the case as possible and to collect tissues for virus isolation.  Results will be posted later.

Necropsy Results.  A full necropsy was performed with the following gross findings: severe emaciation, lung consolidation and hemorrhage, liver soft and hemorrhagic, heavy parasite infestation in stomach, colon, muscle, blubber, and mesentery, severe constipation (probably due to dehydration).  Histopathology will take several months but we suspect a viral disease with the immediate cause of death being electrolyte imbalance due to severe dehydration.