In the Arctic, Drones Help Identify Deadly Virus in Whales

Scientists took samples from whale blow, identifying possible disease risks for marine mammals in northern seas.

In northern Norway, scientists detected a disease-causing virus in humpback whales by flying drones over them. It is the first time the virus, known as cetacean morbillivirus, has been identified in Arctic waters.

Using drones to collect samples from whale blow, scientists tested for four different viruses. The findings, published in mid-December in the journal BMC Veterinary Research, showed that cetacean morbillivirus, a highly infectious and deadly virus, is circulating in northern ecosystems.

“It has never been reported in that area before,” said Helena Costa, a veterinarian at Nord University, who led the study. “We kind of expected that some of the species that migrate would bring it in.”

Cetacean morbillivirus is highly infectious in porpoises, dolphins, whales and other marine mammals. It has caused several outbreaks worldwide, particularly in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, affecting the respiratory and neurological systems and leading to mass strandings and deaths. The virus is transmitted through direct contact between marine mammals and through respiratory droplets and is not necessarily fatal; some infected animals exhibit no symptoms.

Despite its prevalence elsewhere in the world, the virus had not been previously detected in the Arctic Circle. The lack of reported cases in the region may reflect gaps in surveillance rather than the true absence of the virus, the study suggested.

To determine whether the virus was traveling so far north, Dr. Costa and her colleagues used drones to collect samples of “whale blow,” the air expelled through the animal’s blowhole. Traditionally, scientists take skin biopsies, leaving a small wound on the animal, to test for different hormones, pathogens or pollutants. Drones offer a less invasive sampling method and have proven incredibly useful in studying whales.

“It’s a little bit crazy that you can collect air from a whale and actually detect something,” Dr. Costa said.

Between 2016 and 2025, scientists collected more than 50 blow samples from humpback, sperm and fin whales. Drones equipped with petri dishes were flown above and behind the whales’ blowholes to collect samples. Following humpback whale migration patterns, the researchers collected samples from whale groups in northern Norway, Iceland and Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa.

Besides cetacean morbillivirus, scientists tested for three other pathogens: H5N1, the bird flu virus; herpesvirus; and a bacterium called brucella. Two of these, bird flu and brucella, can also infect humans. Dr. Costa and her colleagues wanted to determine whether these two pathogens were present in northern Norway, where people can swim with whales and would be at risk. Neither pathogen was found in the samples.

With more data, especially over time, researchers might begin to identify patterns of disease transmission, Dr. Costa said.

“The interesting thing would be to see it in the long term,” she said. “You get the most valuable data when you have decades of research.”

Whales are more difficult to study and to sample than other animals in northern ecosystems, and so they have not been as well represented in research.

“This is a pioneering contribution,” said Patricia Arranz Alonso, a marine biologist at University of La Laguna in Spain who was not involved in the research. The findings represent the beginning of a global initiative to monitor pathogens in wild cetacean populations, she said, and the use of drones is a vital advance.

Dr. Costa, who hopes to continue studying disease risk for other whales in the region, agreed. Noninvasive methods open up “a new era of research for whales,” she said.

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