In August 2023, a young great white shark was discovered dead on Prince Edward Island, marking a rare encounter for the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (C.W.H.C.). The necropsy revealed signs of meningoencephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, which was initially intriguing but later alarming given subsequent shark deaths in the region. Over the following months, four additional great white sharks were found with similar symptoms, raising concerns and the need for further investigation into this potentially infectious disease affecting shark populations in Eastern Canada.
Over the next few months, the C.W.H.C. received either whole animals or tissue samples from four more white sharks found beached in eastern Canada.
The diagnosis of meningoencephalitis was initially more interesting than alarming, but further findings raised concerns regarding the health of shark populations.
We need to know more about what that is, as three of five examined sharks seem to share a potentially infectious disease affecting their brains.
The C.W.H.C. had never encountered a great white in their 30 years, highlighting the unusual nature of these findings.
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