Sea star-associated densovirus
Sea star-associated densovirus belongs to the Parvoviridae family. Like the other members of its family, it is a. SSaDV has been suggested to be an etiological agent of sea star wasting disease, but conclusive evidence has not yet been obtained.Epidemiology
SSaDV affects sea stars from southern Alaska to Baja California. It tends to occur in large outbreaks with high mortality, as it has in 1972, 1978, 2013, and 2014. See Sea star wasting disease. The virus was isolated from wasting Pycnopodia helianthoides, and detected in small quantities in healthy sea stars and aquarium sediments. The highest viral load was found in the body wall of the central disk.Structure
The physical characteristics of SSaDV are similar to the other members of the genus Ambidensovirus. It is the only viral candidate proposed to cause wasting in sea stars, and is predicted to be a non-enveloped icosahedral particle at ~25 nm.
