Cerebral toxoplasmosis in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) stranded along the Ligurian Sea coast of Italy. 2010

G Di Guardo, and U Proietto, and C E Di Francesco, and F Marsilio, and A Zaccaroni, and D Scaravelli, and W Mignone, and F Garibaldi, and S Kennedy, and F Forster, and B Iulini, and E Bozzetta, and C Casalone
Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy. gdiguardo@unite.it

This article reports the results of necropsy, parasitologic, microbiologic, histopathologic, immunohistochemical, indirect immunofluorescence, biomolecular, and serologic investigations on 8 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) found stranded from August to December 2007 on the Ligurian Sea coast of Italy. Severe, nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis was found in 4 animals, as characterized by prominent perivascular mononuclear cell cuffing and macrophage accumulations in neuropil. These lesions were associated with mild lymphocytic-plasmacytic infiltration of choroid plexuses in 1 dolphin. Toxoplasma gondii cysts and zoites, confirmed by immunohistochemical labeling, were scattered throughout the brain parenchyma of 2 of the 4 dolphins. No viral inclusions were seen in the brain of any animal. Other findings included severe bronchointerstitial pneumonia and pulmonary atelectasis, consolidation, and emphysema. Parasites were identified in a variety of organs, including lung (Halocerchus lagenorhynchi). Microbiologic and serologic examinations for Brucella spp were negative on all 8 dolphins. The 4 animals with meningoencephalitis had serum antibodies against T gondii (titers ranging from 1:80 to 1:320) but not against morbillivirus. In contrast, the other 4 dolphins were seropositive for morbillivirus (with titers ranging from 1:10 to 1:40) but seronegative for T gondii. No morbillivirus antigen or nucleic acid was detected in the tissues of any dolphin. It is concluded that the severe lung and brain lesions were the cause of death and that T gondii was the likely etiologic agent of the cerebral lesions. Morbillivirus infection was not considered to have contributed to death of these animals.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007150 Immunohistochemistry Histochemical localization of immunoreactive substances using labeled antibodies as reagents. Immunocytochemistry,Immunogold Techniques,Immunogold-Silver Techniques,Immunohistocytochemistry,Immunolabeling Techniques,Immunogold Technics,Immunogold-Silver Technics,Immunolabeling Technics,Immunogold Silver Technics,Immunogold Silver Techniques,Immunogold Technic,Immunogold Technique,Immunogold-Silver Technic,Immunogold-Silver Technique,Immunolabeling Technic,Immunolabeling Technique,Technic, Immunogold,Technic, Immunogold-Silver,Technic, Immunolabeling,Technics, Immunogold,Technics, Immunogold-Silver,Technics, Immunolabeling,Technique, Immunogold,Technique, Immunogold-Silver,Technique, Immunolabeling,Techniques, Immunogold,Techniques, Immunogold-Silver,Techniques, Immunolabeling
D007558 Italy A country in southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. The capital is Rome. Sardinia
D008168 Lung Either of the pair of organs occupying the cavity of the thorax that effect the aeration of the blood. Lungs
D008297 Male Males
D009500 Neutralization Tests The measurement of infection-blocking titer of ANTISERA by testing a series of dilutions for a given virus-antiserum interaction end-point, which is generally the dilution at which tissue cultures inoculated with the serum-virus mixtures demonstrate cytopathology (CPE) or the dilution at which 50% of test animals injected with serum-virus mixtures show infectivity (ID50) or die (LD50). Neutralization Test,Test, Neutralization,Tests, Neutralization
D001921 Brain The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM. Encephalon
D004289 Dolphins Mammals of the families Delphinidae (ocean dolphins), Iniidae, Lipotidae, Pontoporiidae, and Platanistidae (all river dolphins). Among the most well-known species are the BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN and the KILLER WHALE (a dolphin). The common name dolphin is applied to small cetaceans having a beaklike snout and a slender, streamlined body, whereas PORPOISES are small cetaceans with a blunt snout and rather stocky body. (From Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th ed, pp978-9) Amazon Dolphins,Baiji,Cephalorhynchus,Chinese River Dolphin,Delphinidae,False Killer Whale,Franciscana,Fraser's Dolphin,Ganges Dolphin,Gray Grampus,Humpback Dolphins,Irrawaddy River Dolphin,La Plata Dolphin,Lagenorhynchus,Lissodelphis,Many-Toothed Blackfish,Marine Dolphins,Melon-Headed Whale,Ocean Dolphins,Piebald Dolphins,Platanista,Pontoporia blainvillei,Pygmy Killer Whale,Right Whale Dolphins,Risso's Dolphin,Rough-Toothed Dolphin,Sousa,Susus,Tucuxi Dolphin,Whale, False Killer,Whale, Melon-Headed,Whale, Pygmy Killer,White-Beaked Dolphins,Amazon River Dolphins,Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins,Feresa attenuata,Ganges River Dolphin,Grampus griseus,Inia geoffrensis,Lagenodelphis hosei,Lagenorhynchus acutus,Lagenorhynchus albirostris,Langenorhynchus obliquidens,Lipotes vexillifer,Orcaella brevirostris,Pacific White-Sided Dolphins,Peponocephala electra,Planista gangetica,Pseudorca crassidens,Sotalia fluviatilis,Steno bredanensis,Yangtze River Dolphin,Atlantic White Sided Dolphins,Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin,Baijus,Dolphin,Dolphin, Fraser's,False Killer Whales,Franciscanas,Fraser Dolphin,Frasers Dolphin,Humpback Dolphin,Lagenodelphis hoseus,Lagenorhynchus albirostri,Langenorhynchus obliquiden,Lissodelphi,Many Toothed Blackfish,Marine Dolphin,Melon Headed Whale,Melon-Headed Whales,Ocean Dolphin,Orcaella brevirostri,Pacific White Sided Dolphins,Pacific White-Sided Dolphin,Piebald Dolphin,Planista gangeticas,Platanistas,Pontoporia blainvilleus,Pseudorca crassiden,Pygmy Killer Whales,Right Whale Dolphin,Risso Dolphin,Rissos Dolphin,Rough Toothed Dolphin,Rough-Toothed Dolphins,Sotalia fluviatili,Tucuxi Dolphins,White Beaked Dolphins,White-Beaked Dolphin
D005260 Female Females
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D014122 Toxoplasma A genus of protozoa parasitic to birds and mammals. T. gondii is one of the most common infectious pathogenic animal parasites of man. Toxoplasma gondii,Toxoplasma gondius,Toxoplasmas,gondius, Toxoplasma

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