Nocardiosis in Free-Ranging Cetaceans from the Central-Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Contiguous Mediterranean Sea

We report the pathologic features of nocardiosis in five free-ranging delphinids from the Canary Islands and Andalusia, namely four striped dolphins (Stenella coerulealba) and one bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). All animals had a multiorgan (disseminated) pattern of infection involving supp...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Díaz Santana, Pablo, Fernández, Antonio, Díaz Delgado, Josue, Vela Alonso, Ana Isabel, Suárez Santana, Cristian, Puig Lozano, Raquel, Fernández Maldonado, Carolina, Sierra, Eva, Arbelo, Manuel, Domínguez Rodríguez, Lucas José
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/73225
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/73225
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:cetacean
nocardiosis
striped dolphin
bottlenose dolphin
Canary Islands
Andalusia
Spain
Piscicultura
Sanidad animal
3105.02 Piscicultura
Descripción
Sumario:We report the pathologic features of nocardiosis in five free-ranging delphinids from the Canary Islands and Andalusia, namely four striped dolphins (Stenella coerulealba) and one bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). All animals had a multiorgan (disseminated) pattern of infection involving suppurative to pyogranulomatous and thromboembolic lesions in two or more organs. Most affected organs were (by decreasing order) lung, pulmonary lymph nodes, liver, kidney, adrenal glands, and central nervous system. Typical intralesional and intravascular branched and filamentous bacteria were highlighted by Grocott’s methenamine silver and Gram stains. Bacterial analysis including 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified Nocardia farcinica in two striped dolphins and Nocardia otitidiscaviarum in one striped dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. All dolphins tested (n = 4) for cetacean morbillivirus were negative; one dolphin had concurrent cutaneous herpesvirosis. These results provide the first record of N. otitidiscaviarum in cetaceans, the first account of N. farcinica in free-ranging dolphins, and confirmation of nocardiosis in central eastern Atlantic Ocean. These results expand the known geographic range of nocardiosis in cetaceans.