Dolphin health and human health
By Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM/MPH

Sometimes humans and dolphins come into close proximity as occurred at Siesta Beach in March 2007.

      It is believed that humans and dolphins have shared blood glucose transport systems to support large brains Several collaborative efforts are underway to examine disease processes in dolphins relative to human medicine.  Recent research has shown that bottlenose dolphins may get mild colds from a virus called Tursiops truncatus parainfluenza virus type 1(TtPIV-1). Parainfluenza viruses are commonly associated with colds in humans and dogs and have been found in many mammals throughout the world. A blood test was developed to test dolphins for exposure to TtPIV-1, and we used this test on stored, frozen samples collected from wild bottlenose dolphins living in Sarasota Bay. The study demonstrated that 66% of healthy Sarasota dolphins had evidence of exposure to parainfluenza virus during 2005-2006. Future research on TtPIV-1 may include its potential as a vaccine for humans against similar parainfluenza viruses.

      Despite living in very different environments, bottlenose dolphins and humans have uniquely shared physical characteristics, including large brain size and red blood cells that can transport blood sugar (glucose).  that require high amounts of glucose to function (Venn-Watson S., Ridgway SH. 2007. Big brains and blood glucose: Common ground for diabetes mellitus in humans and dolphins. Comparative Medicine 57:390-395).  Recent studies have shown that healthy dolphins, after eating a meal, have a metabolism similar to people with diabetes.  Ongoing collaborative research involves studying blood chemistries in healthy, wild bottlenose dolphins living in Sarasota Bay to try and identify clues about their metabolism that may benefit people with diabetes as well as enhance ideal diets for dolphins under the care of humans.