Parasite prevalence and abundance are important factors affecting species' conservation. During necropsies on a free-living golden-headed lion tamarin ( Leontopithecus chrysomelas ) and two Wied's marmosets ( Callithrix kuhlii ) in the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil, we collected a large number of adult intestinal parasites that we identified as Prosthenorchis elegans. This parasite is pathogenic for neotropical primates. Prosthenorchis spp. infestation is influenced by diet with increased risk of exposure from ingesting invertebrate intermediate hosts. The biological similarities and sympatric nature of these two nonhuman primates support that they may harbor similar infectious and parasitic agents.
Brucella-exposure and infection is increasingly recognized in marine mammals worldwide. To better understand the epidemiology and health impacts of Brucella spp. in marine mammals of Brazil, molecular (conventional PCR and/or real-time PCR), serological (Rose Bengal Test [RBT], Competitive [c]ELISA, Serum Agglutination Test [SAT]), pathological, immunohistochemical (IHC) and/or microbiological investigations were conducted in samples of 129 stranded or by-caught marine mammals (orders Cetartiodactyla [n = 124], Carnivora [n = 4] and Sirenia [n = 1]). Previous serological tests performed on available sera of 27 of the 129 animals (26 cetaceans and one manatee), indicated 10 seropositive cetaceans. Conventional PCR and/or realtime PCR performed in cases with available organs (n = 119) and/or blood or swabs (n = 10) revealed 4/129 (3.1%) Brucella-infected cetaceans (one of them with positive serology; the remaining three with no available sera). Pathological, IHC and/or | 1675 SÁNCHEZ-SARMIENTO ET Al.
Skeletal tissues of 49 humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae that stranded between 2002 and 2011 along the Abrolhos Bank seashore and its adjacent waters in Brazil were studied. Twelve (24.5%) animals presented pathological changes in one or more bones. Degenerative changes and developmental malformations were most frequent (10.2% each), followed by inflammatory/infectious and traumatic lesions (8.2% each). Infectious diseases led to severe lesions of the caudal vertebrae of 2 whales. In one of these individuals, the lesions involved 6 caudal vertebrae, leading to ankylosis of 3 vertebrae. Degenerative changes were observed in the vertebral columns of 3 animals, involving the joints of 13 ribs of 1 individual, and in the humerus of 1 whale. Traumatic lesions, such as osseous callus in the ribs, were observed in 4 animals. In 1 whale, the rib showed severe osteomyelitis, possibly resulting from the infection of multiple fractures. Developmental abnormalities such as spina bifida on 3 cervical vertebrae of 1 whale, fusion of spinal processes on thoracic vertebrae of 1 individual and fusion of the first 2 ribs unilaterally or bilaterally in 4 animals were found. Chronic infectious conditions found in the axial skeleton may have restrained spinal mobility and had detrimental effects on the general health of the animals, contributing to stranding and death. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic study on skeletal lesions in stranded humpback whales.KEY WORDS: Cetacean · Skeletal pathology · Infectious disease · Osteomyelitis · Spondylodiscitis · Degenerative disease · Spondyloarthrosis · Developmental abnormality
Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 101: [145][146][147][148][149][150][151][152][153][154][155][156][157][158] 2012 of the animal. However, information on skeletal abnormalities in humpback whales is scarce: 5 single cases have been reported (Stede 1994, Paterson & Van Dyck 1996, Kompanje 1999, Félix et al. 2007, Hellier et al. 2011. Stede (1994) reported osteoperiostitis ossificans hypertrophicans in the caudal vertebra of a humpback whale calf from Germany. Paterson & Van Dyck (1996) described a humpback whale fetus from Australia with injuries consistent with trauma during parturition, such as bilaterally fractured ribs and superficial focally extensive cystic osseous lesions associated with periosteal new bone formation in the supra-orbital region. Hellier et al. (2011) reported the presence of a remodeled lesion ventrally in the maxilla, possibly related to trauma to the baleen plates and/or adjacent soft tissue in a 13.5-m-long humpback whale. The animal also presented bony bridging in the left aspect of the neural arches of 2 cervical vertebrae, and multiple localized areas of reactive bone growth in the vertebral column (Hellier et al. 2011). Spondylo arthritis was suspected to occur in caudal vertebrae of a specimen from Denmark (Kompanje 1999). Severe infectious spondylitis affected 7 lumbar and 4 caudal vertebrae of a 7...
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