Meningoencephalitis in a common minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata associated with Brucella pinnipedialis and gamma-herpesvirus infection

Fatal marine Brucella infections with histologic lesions specific to the central nervous system (CNS), known as neurobrucellosis, have been described in 5 species of odontocete cetaceans in the UK: striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, Atlantic white-sided dolphins Lagenorhynchus acutus, short-bea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
Main Authors: Davison, Nicholas J, Dagleish, Mark P, Ten Doeschate, Mariel, Muchowski, Jakub, Perrett, Lorraine L, Rocchi, Mara, Whatmore, Adrian M, Brownlow, Andrew
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Brucella pinnipedialis
Herpesvirus
Isolation
Meningoencephalitis
Neurobrucellosis
United Kingdom
Animals
Brucella
Meningoencephalitis/veterinary
Minke Whale
Herpesviridae Infections/veterinary
/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_below_water
name=SDG 14 - Life Below Water
Mesoplodon bidens
minke whale
Sowerby's beaked whale
Online Access:https://pure.sruc.ac.uk/en/publications/0f24e049-4830-48e5-addb-5b28ac74445a
https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03590
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106933730&partnerID=8YFLogxK
Description
Summary:Fatal marine Brucella infections with histologic lesions specific to the central nervous system (CNS), known as neurobrucellosis, have been described in 5 species of odontocete cetaceans in the UK: striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, Atlantic white-sided dolphins Lagenorhynchus acutus, short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis, long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas and Sowerby's beaked whale Mesoplodon bidens. To date, these CNS lesions have only been associated with Brucella ceti ST26 and not with B. pinnipedialis, which is rarely isolated from cetaceans and, although commonly found in various seal species, has never been associated with any pathology. This paper describes the first report of neurobrucellosis in a common minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata which was associated with the isolation of Brucella pinnipedialis ST24 and co-infection with Balaenoptera acutorostrata gamma-herpesvirus 2. This is the first report of neurobrucellosis in any species of mysticete and the first report of Brucella pinnipedialis in association with any pathology in any species of marine mammal, which may be due to co-infection with a herpesvirus, as these are known to be associated with immunosuppression.

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