Fatal <i>Streptococcus iniae</i> Infection in a Juvenile Free-Ranging Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>)
<i>Streptococcus iniae (S. iniae)</i> is a significant aquatic pathogen of farmed fish species, important zoonotic pathogen, and reported cause of disease in captive Amazon River dolphins (<i>Inia geoffrensis</i>) and a bottlenose dolphin (<i>Tursiops truncatus</i>...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
MDPI AG
2021
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/185cb35b32174cd3b9f0b1688222dbd1 |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| Sumario: | <i>Streptococcus iniae (S. iniae)</i> is a significant aquatic pathogen of farmed fish species, important zoonotic pathogen, and reported cause of disease in captive Amazon River dolphins (<i>Inia geoffrensis</i>) and a bottlenose dolphin (<i>Tursiops truncatus</i>). Here we report <i>S. iniae</i> as the cause of subcutaneous abscesses, sepsis and mortality in a juvenile free-ranging short-beaked common dolphin (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>) found deceased on a metropolitan Australian beach. Body surfaces were covered by multifocal, depressed, deep, irregular cutaneous ulcerations, which microscopically were characterised by ruptured subcutaneous abscesses with intralesional cocci. Routine microbiological investigations revealed a heavy growth of beta-haemolytic <i>Streptococcus</i> sp. identified as <i>Streptococcus iniae</i> in skin lesions as well as from heart blood, the latter supportive of sepsis. Tissues were negative for cetacean morbillivirus and no other disease processes were identified. <i>S. iniae</i> has not been reported in free-ranging marine mammals, nor in Australian delphinids, previously. More notably a pathogen of captive animals, this case report identifies <i>S. iniae</i> as a pathogen of wild dolphins also. In addition to expanding the host reservoir of a significant zoonotic pathogen, determining the source of infection as well as possible consequences for other marine mammals and wild and intensive fish stocks warrants further investigations. |
|---|