| Literature DB >> 29369721 |
Maria Domenica Pintore1, Walter Mignone2, Giovanni Di Guardo3, Sandro Mazzariol4, Marco Ballardini2, Caterina Lucia Florio1, Maria Goria1, Angelo Romano1, Santo Caracappa5, Federica Giorda1, Laura Serracca6, Alessandra Pautasso1, Cristiana Tittarelli7, Antonio Petrella8, Giuseppe Lucifora9, Fabio Di Nocera10, Barbara Degli Uberti10, Cristiano Corona1, Cristina Casalone1, Barbara Iulini1.
Abstract
We summarized the neuropathologic findings in 60 cetaceans stranded along the Italian coastline from 2002 to 2014. The following neuropathologic changes were detected in 45% (27/60) of animals: nonsuppurative meningo-encephalitides (30%, 18/60), nonspecific lesions (12%, 7/60), suppurative encephalitis (2%, 1/60), and neoplasm (2%, 1/60). No histologic lesions were found in 47% (28/60) of the specimens. Five (8%, 5/60) samples were unsuitable for analysis. Analysis with PCR detected Brucella spp., morbillivirus, and Toxoplasma gondii infection in one, six, and seven individuals, respectively. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed positivity for morbillivirus and for T. gondii infection in three cases each. No evidence of the scrapie-associated prion protein PrPSc was detected. Our findings underscore the importance of an adequate surveillance system for monitoring aquatic mammal pathologies and for protecting both animal and human health.Entities:
Keywords: Brucella spp.; Toxoplasma gondii; marine mammals; morbillivirus; neuropathology; stranding
Mesh：
Year: 2018 PMID： 29369721 DOI： 10.7589/2017-02-035
Source DB: PubMed Journal: J Wildl Dis ISSN： 0090-3558 Impact factor: 1.535