Serological survey of pre-weaned New Zealand fur seals<i>(Arctocephalus forsteri)</i>for brucellosis and leptospirosis

Mackereth, GF; Webb, KM; O’Keefe, John; Duignan, PJ; Kittelberger, Reinhold

doi:10.1080/00480169.2005.36588

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…The isolates were resuscitated using brucella enrichment broth (Farrells medium) and incubated at 37°C for 3 to 7 days. The broths were subcultured onto serum dextrose agar and chocolate blood agar and incubated at 37°C in O 2 and CO 2 (1,28).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of aBrucellasp. Strain as a Marine-Mammal Type despite Isolation from a Patient with Spinal Osteomyelitis in New Zealand

et al. 2006

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Naturally acquired infection of humans with a marine mammal-associated Brucella sp. has only been reported once previously in a study describing infections of two patients from Peru. We report the isolation and characterization of a strain of Brucella from a New Zealand patient that appears most closely related to strains previously identified from marine mammals. The isolate was preliminarily identified as Brucella suis using conventional bacteriological tests in our laboratory. However, the results profile was not an exact match, and the isolate was forwarded to four international reference laboratories for further identification. The reference laboratories identified the isolate as either B. suis or B. melitensis by traditional bacteriological methods in three laboratories and by a molecular test in the fourth laboratory. Molecular characterization by PCR, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and DNA sequencing of the bp26 gene; IS711; the omp genes omp25, omp31, omp2a, and omp2b; IRS-PCR fragments I, III, and IV; and five housekeeping gene fragments was conducted to resolve the discrepant identification of the isolate. The isolate was identified to be closely related to a Brucella sp. originating from a United States bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and common seals (Phoca vitulina).Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease of humans, causing a variety of vague symptoms including undulant fever, fatigue, malaise, joint pain, myalgia, depression, and anorexia (22). Chronic sequelae and recrudescence decades after initial infection also occur. Brucella may be transmitted from animals to humans by direct contact with infected animals, ingestion of infected food products, and inhalation of aerosols. Four species of Brucella are the primary causes of infection in humans. Brucella melitensis is highly infectious and is transmitted from sheep and goats, B. abortus is transmitted from cattle, B. suis is transmitted from pigs and, infrequently, B. canis is transmitted from dogs. Other species of Brucella have been rarely or not reported to infect humans.There are only two reports in the literature of humans infected with marine mammal strains of Brucella. One report was of a laboratory worker who displayed symptoms consistent with brucellosis (4). The infection was confirmed by a positive serological response, isolation, and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) identification of a marine Brucella strain. Two patients originating from Peru and diagnosed with neurobrucellosis were also confirmed to be infected with marine mammal strains of Brucella by isolation, PCR, and DNA sequencing (41). The two Peruvian patients were not laboratory workers, and the infection was naturally acquired.Serological evidence and isolation of brucellae have been reported from a variety of marine mammals on numerous occasions from locations in the northern hemisphere. The serological prevalence ranges from 0 to 38% for cetaceans, pinnipeds, and mustelids (6,24,26,29,32,34,43). The largest studies of 1,855 ...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In pinnipeds of Australia, serological reactions were reported in three species, including 75% (9/12) of sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) (13). In New Zealand, no serological reactions were detected in 101 New Zealand sea lions (Arctocephalus hookeri) (28).…”

Section: Originating From a United States Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiopmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of aBrucellasp. Strain as a Marine-Mammal Type despite Isolation from a Patient with Spinal Osteomyelitis in New Zealand

et al. 2006

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“…have been detected in captive Australian fur seals A. pusillus doriferus and leopard seals (Dawson 2005), and a high seroprevalence has been detected in the wild Australian fur seal population (Lynch et al 2011a,b), and in wild Australian sea lions Neophoca cinerea (Dawson 2005). No serological evidence of Brucella infection was found in 101 pre-weaned wild New Zealand fur seal pups A. forsteri (Mackereth et al 2005). Importantly, to date the isolation of Brucella spp., which is the only certain diagnosis of brucellosis, has not been documented in any Antarctic species, although several attempts have been reported (Abalos Pineda et al 2009, McFarlane 2009, Lynch et al 2011a.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brucella antibody seroprevalence in Antarctic seals (Arctocephalus gazella, Leptonychotes weddellii and Mirounga leonina)

Jensen¹,

Nymo²,

Forcada³

et al. 2013

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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Brucellosis is a worldwide infectious zoonotic disease caused by Gram-negative bacteria of the genus Brucella, and Brucella infections in marine mammals were first reported in 1994. A serosurvey investigating the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies in 3 Antarctic pinniped species was undertaken with a protein A/G indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) and the Rose Bengal test (RBT). Serum samples from 33 Weddell seals Leptonychotes weddelli were analysed, and antibodies were detected in 8 individuals (24.2%) with the iELISA and in 21 (65.6%) with the RBT. We tested 48 southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina sera and detected antibodies in 2 animals (4.7%) with both the iELISA and the RBT. None of the 21 Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella was found positive. This is the first report of anti-Brucella antibodies in southern elephant seals. The potential impact of Brucella infection in pinnipeds in Antarctica is not known, but Brucella spp. are known to cause abortion in terrestrial species and cetaceans. Our findings suggest that Brucella infection in pinnipeds is present in the Antarctic, but to date B. pinnipedialis has not been isolated from any Antarctic pinniped species, leaving the confirmation of infection pending.KEY WORDS: Serology · Antarctic fur seal · Weddell seal · Southern elephant seal · Pinniped · Brucella pinnipedialis Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 105: [175][176][177][178][179][180][181] 2013 niped and cetacean isolates were published as new species of the genus Brucella with the names B. pinnipedialis (pinnipeds) and B. ceti (cetaceans) (Foster et al. 2007). Since then there have been several reports on the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies and infection with B. pinnipedialis in pinnipeds from most parts of the world (Foster et al. 2002, Nymo et al. 2011. Brucella-associated lesions with isolation of B. pinnipedialis from seals has never been recorded, whereas B. ceti has been isolated in association with a wide range of lesions in cetaceans, especially in the reproductive and neurological systems (Nymo et al. 2011, Guzman-Verri et al. 2012.The Antarctic continent is one of the most remote areas of the world and contains up to 50% or more of the world's pinnipeds, with 6 different species: crabeater seal Lobodon carcinophagus, Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella, Weddell seal Leptonychotes weddellii, Ross seal Ommatophoca rossi, leopard seal Hydrurga leptonyx and southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina. Relatively little data are available on the abundance of these seals (Laws 1984, Boyd 2009 (Retamal et al. 2000). In addition, 5 out of 12 (41.7%) Weddell seals and 5 out of 86 (5.8%) Antarctic fur seals from Cape Shirreff were found to have anti-Brucella antibodies (Blank et al. 2001(Blank et al. , 2002. Weddell seals (n = 56; 97%) from the Vestfold Hills in East Antarctica showed a high brucellosis seroprevalence (McFarlane 2009), whereas Weddell seals (n = 66) from McMurdo Sound in Antarctica...

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“…Little is known of the causes of death or the prevalence of zoonotic organisms in manatees from Peru; however, Leptospira spp. have been reported to cause mortalities in marine mammals (Visser et al, 1991;Higgins, 2000;Mackereth et al, 2005;Bossart et al, 2012;Sulzner et al, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…antibodies was performed by a microscopic agglutination test (MAT) according to Lambourne et al (1998) and Mackereth et al (2005). The association of presence of antibodies against Leptospira spp.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of infection with Leptospira spp. in manatees (Trichechus inunguis) of the Peruvian Amazon

Mathews

Perea²,

García

et al. 2015

Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Mamm.

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The Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) is an aquatic mammal (Family Trichechidae) that inhabits freshwater environments. It is endemic to the Amazon Basin, and occurs from Marajó Island (at the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil) to the headwaters of the floodplain in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Little is known of the causes of death or the prevalence of zoonotic organisms in manatees from Peru; however, Leptospira spp. have been reported to cause mortalities in marine mammals. Here we evaluated the presence of Leptospira spp. antibodies in Amazonian manatees. To our knowledge, this is the first report of presence of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in aquatic mammals maintained in captivity in the Peruvian Amazon.

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Serological survey of pre-weaned New Zealand fur seals(Arctocephalus forsteri)for brucellosis and leptospirosis

Cited by 17 publications

References 17 publications

Characterization of aBrucellasp. Strain as a Marine-Mammal Type despite Isolation from a Patient with Spinal Osteomyelitis in New Zealand

Characterization of aBrucellasp. Strain as a Marine-Mammal Type despite Isolation from a Patient with Spinal Osteomyelitis in New Zealand

Brucella antibody seroprevalence in Antarctic seals (Arctocephalus gazella, Leptonychotes weddellii and Mirounga leonina)

Detection of infection with Leptospira spp. in manatees (Trichechus inunguis) of the Peruvian Amazon

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