Bacterial infection linked to death of Vancouver Aquarium's false killer whale

Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre handle a rescued false killer whale in a handout photo released on Thursday July 24, 2014. (HO/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Aquarium says preliminary results from a necropsy show a false killer whale that died at the facility last Friday had a bacterial infection.

An email statement from the aquarium says it appears Chester, the three-year-old false killer whale, died of erysipelas, an illness veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena says has resulted in the deaths of wild cetaceans and those in human care.

Haulena says it is the first known case of the disease at the aquarium.

Because it is infectious, Haulena says Helen, a Pacific white sided dolphin who shared a pool with Chester, is being treated with antibiotics.

Chester was brought to the aquarium when he was just a few weeks old, after being found stranded on a Vancouver Island beach in July 2014.

The aquarium has said the false killer whale, a member of the dolphin family, remained a "health challenged animal" throughout his life.