What Is The Cause Of Puget Sound Orca?

A new study in Puget Sound, Washington has brought to light that when an orca breaks through the water surface and exchales, it sprays an array of bacteria and fungi. Consequently, these findings raise concern on whether infectious diseases could be a major stress factor for the struggling population of orcas. Moreover, the study took place throughout four years as scientists on boats followed orcas as they swam in Washington state waters and collected the droplets spreyed out as the orca exchaled in petri dishes attached to long poles. Furthermore, the scientist found bacteria, some healthy, other disease-causing such as salmonella and staphylococcus. Notably, some of the bacteria in the samples seem to be resistant to antibiotics frequently used by people and animals, meaning that the bacteria came from pollution contaminating the marine environment.
Some of the bacteria could be naturally occurring and non-harmful to the orcas. Scientists say that the potential problem is that orcas with weak immune responses could possibly be more susceptible to the types of this bacterias that cause respiratory diseases. These concerns are largely emphasized by the fact the Puget Sound orca population is not very consistent or robust. As part of an effort to augment the orca population, the animals are being intensely tracked photographed to to create accurate health records for each and every one of them. In short, this analysis provides pictures of the pathogens burdening the orcas which will in turn serve as a baseline for scientist to compare changes in the orcas respiratory conditions over