Drones have been used to successfully collect samples from the exhaled breath - or "blow" - from wild humpback, sperm and fin whales in northern Norway, hailing a new era of non-invasive health monitoring for these marine giants in Arctic regions.
This approach for pathogen screening has confirmed for the first time that a potentially deadly whale virus, known as cetacean morbillivirus, is circulating above the Arctic Circle.
Experts say this new use of drones could support conservation strategies by detecting early emerging threats of the virus, which has been connected to numerous mass strandings of whales and dolphins, worldwide.
The study, involving King's College London and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in the UK, multiple partners including Nord University as the lead university and is published in BMC Veterinary Research, deployed consumer drones equipped with sterile Petri dishes to hover over whale blowholes and capture respiratory droplets.
Co-author Professor Terry Dawson, Department of Geography, King's College London said:
"Drone blow sampling is a game-changer. It allows us to monitor pathogens in live whales without stress or harm, providing critical insights into diseases in rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems."
Between 2016 and 2025, researchers sampled humpback, sperm, and fin whales across the Northeast Atlantic, including northern Norway, Iceland, and Cape Verde.
Blow samples, as well as skin biopsies, and in one case, an organ sample, were collected and screened for infectious agents using molecular lab tests.
The team found cetacean morbillivirus (of a strain first identified in dolphins) in humpback whale groups in northern Norway, a sperm whale showing poor health, and a stranded pilot whale.
Cetacean morbillivirus is a highly pathogenic virus infecting whales, dolphins and porpoises, causing severe respiratory, neurological and immune damage, and has triggered multiple mass mortality events in cetacean populations since its discovery in 1987. The findings also raise concerns about potential outbreak risks during dense winter-feeding aggregations, where whales, seabirds, and humans interact closely.
Herpesviruses were also found in humpback whales across Norway, Iceland, and Cape Verde - but there was no detection of avian influenza virus or the bacteria Brucella, which have also been linked to strandings.
The research highlights the importance of continued surveillance, as pathogens like morbillivirus can cause severe disease and interact with other stressors.
Helena Costa, lead author at Nord University, said: "Going forward, the priority is to continue using these methods for long-term surveillance, so we can understand how multiple emerging stressors will shape whale health in the coming years."
The study was funded by King's College London and the Research Council of Norway, and included a collaboration with the UiT- The Arctic University of Norway, the University of Iceland and BIOS-CV in Cape Verde.
