Edwardsiella tarda sepsis in a live-stranded sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus )

Whale strandings remain poorly understood, although bacterial infections have been suggested to contribute. We isolated Edwardsiella tarda from the blood of a stranded sperm whale. The pathogen was identified with MALDI-TOF MS, confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantified in blood by qPCR. W...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Veterinary Microbiology
Main Authors: Cools, P., Haelters, J., Lopes dos Santos Santiago, G., Claeys, G., Boelens, J., Leroux-Roels, I., Vaneechoutte, M., Deschaght, P.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2013
Subjects:
Whale stranding
Edwardsiella tarda
Physeter macrocephalus [Sperm whale]
Physeteridae [Sperm whale]
ANE
Belgium
Belgian Coast
Knokke-Heist
Physeter macrocephalus
Sperm whale
Online Access:http://www.vliz.be/nl/open-marien-archief?module=ref&refid=229452
Description
Summary:Whale strandings remain poorly understood, although bacterial infections have been suggested to contribute. We isolated Edwardsiella tarda from the blood of a stranded sperm whale. The pathogen was identified with MALDI-TOF MS, confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantified in blood by qPCR. We report the first case of sepsis in a sperm whale. The zoonotic potential of E. tarda and the possible role of bacterial infections in the enigmatic strandings of cetaceans are discussed.

Similar Items