No abstract

Background and Aims: Canine distemper (CD) is a deadly infectious disease of Canidae family. CD is a multi-systemic viral disease and is specified by wide range of clinical symptoms. The manifestations are not always indicative of CD, therefore a laboratory confirmation is necessary for suspected cases.

Canine distemper virus (CDV), Leptospira interrogans, and Toxoplasma gondii are potentially lethal pathogens associated with decline in marine mammal populations. The Caspian Sea is home for the endangered Caspian seal (Pusa caspica). In the late 1990s and early 2000s, CDV caused a series of mortality events involving at least several thousand Caspian seals. To assess current infection status in Caspian seals, we surveyed for antibodies to three pathogens with potential to cause mortality in marine mammals. During 2015–2017, we tested serum samples from 36, apparently healthy, Caspian seals, accidentally caught in fishing nets in the Caspian Sea off Northern Iran, for antibodies to CDV, L. interrogans, and T. gondii, by virus neutralization, microscopic agglutination, and modified agglutination, respectively. Twelve (33%), 6 (17%), and 30 (83%) samples were positive for CDV, L. interrogans and T. gondii antibodies, respectively. The highest titers of CDV, L. interrogans, and T. gondii antibodies were 16, 400, and 50, respectively. Frequencies of antibody to these pathogens were higher in seals >1 year old compared to seals <1 year old. Two serovars of L. interrogans (Pomona and Canicola) were detected. Our results suggest a need for additional studies to clarify the impact of these pathogens on Caspian seal population decline and the improvement of management programs, including systematic screening to detect and protect the remaining population from disease outbreaks.

No abstract

Three Persian leopards ( Panthera pardus saxicolor) that died from car accidents in Golestan National Park, Iran, were tested for Toxoplasma gondii and rabies virus infection. Acute T. gondii infection was diagnosed in two Persian leopards; no rabies virus was detected. Acute toxoplasmosis may be a factor in Persian leopard road kills.

Wild birds serve as major reservoirs for transmission of Salmonella to domestic animals and humans. Given the zoonotic potential of salmonellosis, the main goal of this research was to investigate the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of S. enterica infections in wild Mallard ducks. Faecal samples (n=247) from wild Mallard ducks were tested for the prevalence of Salmonella spp., and genotypes of strains were then differentiated by multiplex PCR. From the 247 faecal samples, 18 (7.29%) were positive for Salmonella spp. Biochemically the most predominant serovars were S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis (10 and 6 cases each, respectively), whereas only 2 serovars belonged to S. Infantis. Among the 10 S. Typhimurium serovars, nine strains were positive for rfbJ, fljB, invA, and fliC genes based on multiplex PCR assay and one strain contained only the invA gene. In S. Enteritidis serovars, PCR generated amplification products for spv and sefA genes, and a random sequence in all samples. The two S. Infantis contained the random sequence specific for Salmonella genus. With respect to the circulation of virulent Salmonella in wild ducks of Semnan suburbs, more work to assess the correlation of strains from wild life with human and livestock strains is needed.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which contain many carcinogenic compounds, are a major ingredient of petroleum/oil. PAH pollution of the Caspian Sea, the world's largest lake, is rapidly occurring and may be affecting the endangered Caspian seal (Pusa caspica), the only marine mammal in this lake. To analyze the entrance of PAHs into the Caspian Sea food chain and the health status of Caspian seals, we measured 16 carcinogenic PAHs in the blubber, kidney, and liver tissues of 10 Caspian seal carcasses from the coastal region of northeastern Iran, using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry. Of the 16 PAHs investigated, anthracene, phenanthrene, and naphthalene only were identified in nine sampled Caspian seals. Concentrations of anthracene (𝑥̅ =84.83±79.86 ppb wet weight [w.w.]), phenanthrene (𝑥̅ =31.75±52.22 ppb w.w), and naphthalene (𝑥̅ =25.1±31.57 ppb w.w.) in blubber tissues were higher than in kidney and liver tissues. The concentration of PAHs in tissues was significantly higher in male than in female seals PAHs exposure in Caspian seals 3 and we found an inverse relationship between seal age and PAH concentration in tissues. Although no data exist concerning toxic effect concentrations of PAHs in Caspian seals, PAH detection in seal carcasses highlights a potentially stressful condition that may impact the health of Caspian seals and other sea life in this lake. Appropriate strategies for the control of PAH entrance into the Caspian Sea should be sought and studies for the determination of pathogenic and lethal doses of PAHs in Caspian seals should be pursued.

The Caspian seal (Pusa caspica) is an endangered species that only lives in the Caspian Sea. Little information is available on its exposure to contaminants, and no data exists for Southern sub-populations. From 2011 to 2016, tissues samples were collected from 20 Caspian seals to (i) Define the concentration of trace elements in five different matrices and the concentration of 30 pesticides in their blubber; (ii) Determine whether differences in contaminant concentrations are age- or sex-related; (iii) Evaluate if detected concentrations can represent a risk to the species. Age- and sex-related variations were detected for Zn and Hg in the blubber and Fe in the kidney by age only. Exceptionally high Hg concentrations and low levels of hepatic Zn were detected, raising some concern about the reproductive health of seals. Similarly, the DDTs levels detected were in the range of adverse reproductive effects in marine mammals. Based on these results, potentially adverse effects on the immune and endocrine systems of the Caspian seal cannot be ruled out. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that pollutant monitoring becomes an integral component of conservation strategies for the Caspian seal.