Brucellosis in marine mammals, with special emphasis on the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

SummaryAfter almost two decades of research and evidence of brucellosis in marine mammals, it has become widely known that this disease is prevalent in marine mammals on a global scale. Positive animals have been found in the northern Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and in the Arctic, including the Barents Sea. Infected or exposed animals have been detected along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, off the coasts of Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, the Solomon Islands, and in the Antarctic Ocean. Brucellosis most commonly occurs in the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), followed by the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), shortbeaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). A positive serological reaction has been confirmed in 35 species of whales and 14 species of seals, two subspecies of sea otters, one species of freshwater otter and the polar bear. To date, brucellosis has been found in marine mammals in the Mediterranean Sea in Italy and Spain. The first research on brucellosis in dolphins in the Republic of Croatia began in 2015. Brucella sp. was isolated from the lymph node of a bottlenose dolphin found dead in the Poreč region. This was the first evidence of brucellosis in dolphins in the Adriatic Sea. The isolated sample was identified as Brucella ceti strain ST27, making this the first record of this strain in Europe, which may present a significant threat to human health.

Microbiota and gut ultrastructure of Anisakis pegreffii isolated from stranded cetaceans in the Adriatic Sea

“…In contrast, marine Brucella spp. have been recognized as one of the most important pathogens shaping the cetacean populations, as they cause severe clinical and pathological symptoms, including abortions, male infertility, neurobrucellosis, cardiopathology, bone and skin lesions, and ultimately, stranding and death [43]. Brucella ceti has been cultured or detected by PCR in many cetacean species, including dolphins and whales [44, 45].…”

“…It is believed that the strains from dolphins and porpoise are not infectious towards humans due to variable bacteriological testing results on terrestrial animals. However, evidence suggests that this classification is incorrect, as Cvetnić et al [43] have isolated Brucella ceti ST27 strain from a dolphin stranded on the Croatian coast. Isolate ST26 has been detected in an adult female common minke whale ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata ) stranded in 2014 in Scotland, from a large abscess that extended from the pharyngeal region to the cranial inlet of the thoracic cavity, measuring one meter in length [46].…”

Brucellae as resilient intracellular pathogens: epidemiology, host–pathogen interaction, recent genomics and proteomics approaches, and future perspectives

“…B. melitensis and B. abortus are the most significant species in animals and humans ( 5 ). Later, two new Brucella spp., namely, B. pinnipedialis (walruses and seals) and B. ceti (dolphins, porpoises, and whales), have been reported to infect marine mammals ( 6 ). Brucellosis is a major health concern for animals because it causes significant economic losses in developing countries across the world in the form of abortion, stillbirth, delayed conception, retained placenta, reduced milk production, contagious epididymitis, and the cost of treatment and productivity loss ( 7 ) ( Table 1 ).…”

Importance of brucellosis control programs of livestock on the improvement of one health

“…Recently, two new Brucella spp., B. ceti (dolphins, porpoises and whales), and B. pinnipedialis (walruses and seals) have been reported from marine mammal hosts according to their pathogenicity and preferred hosts (Cvetnić et al. 2016 ; Ness et al. 2017 ).…”