A pregnant sea lion stranded in the State of Washington was found to have placentitis caused by a unique strain of Coxiella burnetii. This is the first description of coxiellosis in a sea lion and suggests that exposure to sea lions may be a risk factor for contracting Q fever. CASE REPORTA pregnant adult female Steller sea lion (Stranding number WDFW2008-058) was found dead on the beach at Westhaven State Park in Westport, WA (lat 46.8981, long 124.1307), on 9 June 2008. The adult female had an estimated weight of 250 to 300 kg and was in fair body condition. Based on the condition of the body and the frequency of beach surveys in the area, the time since death was estimated at approximately 3 days. The animal was in moderate postmortem condition. The abdominal cavity was distended by the enlarged uterus, a near-term fetus, and approximately 2 liters of creamy, brown-pink exudate. Fish bones were dispersed throughout the omentum, and there was pronounced thickening and opacification of the omentum and mesentery. The spleen was moderately enlarged, and there was pronounced injection of the meningeal vasculature, with scattered hemorrhage throughout the surface of the brain. Gross necropsy of the fetus disclosed a near-term male with a weight of 19 kg. The fetus was in good body condition. The liver was friable, with scattered hemorrhage noted randomly through the lobes. The meningeal vessels were congested. Samples of representative organs were fixed in 10% buffered formalin, embedded in wax, sectioned at 5 m, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin.The most significant histological findings of the adult female were moderate diffuse lymphoid hyperplasia of the lymph nodes, diffuse pulmonary edema, and mild encephalitis. The fetus showed edema, with aspirated squames through the pulmonary parenchyma. The placenta also showed aggregates of enlarged trophoblasts within the chorioallantoic villi that had vacuolated granular cytoplasm.Ancillary diagnostic testing was performed at the British Columbia Animal Health Center. Bacterial cultures on blood agar showed light growth of Enterococcus spp. within the fetus lung, brain, spleen, and small intestine and the adult uterus. This was attributed to postmortem overgrowth. Cultures from adult and fetal small intestines in selenite broth followed by plating on XLT4 and Hektoen enteric agar tested negative for Salmonella spp. Pooled tissue (lymph node, lung, spleen, brain, uterus, and thymus) for both the adult and fetus was negative by PCR for Brucella spp. and morbillivirus (3,5,8). Brain, heart, and skeletal muscle samples from the adult and the fetus were submitted to the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIAID, Bethesda,

ABSTRACT:Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Humans are commonly exposed via inhalation of aerosolized bacteria derived from the waste products of domesticated sheep and goats, and particularly from products generated during parturition. However, many other species can be infected with C. burnetii, and the host range and full zoonotic potential of C. burnetii is unknown. Two cases of C. burnetii infection in marine mammal placenta have been reported, but it is not known if this infection is common in marine mammals. To address this issue, placenta samples were collected from Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardsi), harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Coxiella burnetii was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the placentas of Pacific harbor seals (17/27), harbor porpoises (2/6), and Steller sea lions (1/2) collected in the Pacific Northwest. A serosurvey of 215 Pacific harbor seals sampled in inland and outer coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest showed that 34.0% (73/215) had antibodies against either Phase 1 or Phase 2 C. burnetii. These results suggest that C. burnetii infection is common among marine mammals in this region.

A small subset of the Eastern North Pacific gray whale population does not make the full migration from wintering grounds in Mexico to feeding grounds in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas and instead feed along the Pacific Coast between northern California and northern British Columbia – this group is known as the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG). We evaluated the body condition of PCFG whales observed in northern Washington and along Vancouver Island to evaluate how body condition of gray whales changes within and between years. We found that PCFG gray whales improve body condition through the feeding season and at varying rates by year and that they have variability in their body condition at the start and end of each feeding season. The inclusion of environmental factors, particularly the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (lagged two years) and September kelp canopy cover along the Washington coast (lagged one year), drastically improved the ability of a multiple regression model to predict average whale body condition for a given year as compared to models without environmental factors included. A comparison of our findings to a previously published study on body condition of gray whales at Sakhalin Island, Russia highlight the differences of life history strategy between a group of whales with a long migration (Sakhalin whales) and those with a short migration. Whales feeding at Sakhalin Island gain body condition quicker and more predictably to a good body condition by the end of the feeding season than the whales we studied in the PCFG. Photogrammetry may be an effective method for monitoring the effects of climate change on PCFG gray whales.

No abstract

Harmful algal bloom toxins cause illness and mortality in marine mammals worldwide, yet the potential for year-round exposure to these toxins has not previously been studied. We measured concentrations of domoic acid and saxitoxin in scats from Steller sea lions Eumetopias jubatus (n = 383 scats) and California sea lions Zalophus californianus (n = 125 scats) over a 2 yr period. Toxin concentrations in the scats were compared to the prey remains in the scats and to concentrations in nearshore bivalves. Saxitoxin was detected in 45% and domoic acid was detected in 17% of all scats tested, and both toxins were detected in all seasons and months of the year. A variety of benthic and pelagic fish were significantly associated with toxins in sea lion scats, including prey with low occurrence in the sea lions' diet. Toxins detected in winter scats confirm that US West Coast marine mammals are exposed to domoic acid and saxitoxin through their prey outside of the expected algal bloom seasons.