Morbilliviral encephalitis in a striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba calf from Italy

Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

Roberto Speranza¹  Francesco Scholl¹  Cristina Esmeralda Di Francesco¹  Cristiano Cocumelli¹  Giovanni Di Guardo¹  Claudia Eleni¹  Massimiliano Pennelli¹ 

关键词: Encephalitis;    Dolphin morbillivirus;    Striped dolphin;    Italy;    Mediterranean Sea;   

DOI  :  10.3354/dao02355

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: A free-living, striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba calf was stranded on the Latium coast of Italy in November 2009. Significant neuropathological findings included non-suppurative meningoencephalitis, microgliosis, neuronal degeneration, astrocytosis, and occasional multinucleate syncytia. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for Morbillivirus were positive exclusively from the brain, with morbilliviral antigen and nucleic acid being detected in neurons and, to a lesser extent, in astrocytes. A low neutralizing antibody titer (1:10) against Morbillivirus (Canine distemper virus, CDV) was also found in blood serum, with no simultaneous presence of serum antibodies to Brucella spp. or Toxoplasma gondii. Furthermore, no pathogenic bacteria were isolated from any tissue or biological sample. This is the second report of morbilliviral encephalitis in a striped dolphin stranded along the Italian coastline in a 16 yr period (1993 to 2009). The neurohistopathological, IHC, and biomolecular features of this case are of additional interest, as antigenic and genomic positivity were exclusively confined to the brain of this dolphin, which may have acquired morbilliviral infection either postnatally or transplacentally.

【 授权许可】

Unknown