Whale breath collected by drones is giving clues to the health of wild humpbacks and other whales.

Scientists flew drones equipped with special kit through the exhaled droplets, or “blows”, made when the giants come up to breathe through their blowholes.

They confirmed for the first time that a potentially deadly whale virus, known as cetacean morbillivirus, is circulating above the Arctic Circle.

The disease is highly contagious and spreads easily among dolphins, whales, and porpoises causing severe disease and mass deaths.