Mycoplasma species isolated from harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and a sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens) stranded in Scottish waters

• Published in: Journal of Wildlife Diseases
• Main Authors: Foster, G, McAuliffe, L, Dagleish, MP, Barley, J, Howie, F, Nicholas, RAJ, Ayling, RD
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Harbor porpoise; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma phocicerebrale; Necropsy; Sowerby’s beaked whale; Mesoplodon bidens; Phocoena phocoena; Sowerby's beaked whale
• Online Access: https://pure.sruc.ac.uk/en/publications/7e0c436c-34bc-47fa-a24a-3847ddf43360; https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-47.1.206

Mycoplasma species were recovered from 10 cetacean carcasses that stranded around Scotland. Mycoplasma phocicerebrale was isolated from the lungs of three harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) as well as from the liver of one of these animals. Novel Mycoplasma spp. were isolated from the lungs of five additional harbor porpoises and the kidney of another. In addition an isolate closely related to Mycoplasma species 13CL was obtained from the kidney of a Sowerby’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens). The role of these Mycoplasma species in the disease of cetaceans, their host specificity, diversity, and any relation to cetacean strandings are unknown.