Antibodies to Brucella spp. in Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins from the Solomon Islands

Tachibana, Masaru; Watanabe, Kenta; Kim, Suk; Omata, Yoshitaka; Murata, Koichi; Hammond, Ted; Watarai, Masahisa

doi:10.7589/0090-3558-42.2.412

Cited by 27 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Similar to this study, Brucella antibodies have been detected in sera from a number of marine mammal species using Rose Bengal tests (Tryland et al 1999, Retamal et al 2000, Hernández-Mora et al 2008, Jensen et al 2013, and using both indirect ELISA (iELISA) and cELISAs primarily designed for ruminants (Tryland et al 1999, Nielsen et al 2001, Van Bressem et al 2001, Tachibana et al 2006, Roe et al 2010, Lynch et al 2011, Jensen et al 2013, Nymo et al 2013a). Here, differences in the prevalence estimates obtained from the RBT and the cELISA results highlight the need to consider test performance when conducting serological studies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Exposure of harbour seals Phoca vitulina to Brucella in declining populations across Scotland

Kershaw¹,

Stubberfield²,

Foster³

et al. 2017

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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Since 2000 there has been a major decline in the abundance of Scottish harbour seals Phoca vitulina. The causes of the decline remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to establish the extent to which the seals in the regions of greatest decline have been exposed to Brucella, a bacterial pathogen that causes reproductive failure in terrestrial mammalian hosts. Tissues from dead seals collected between 1992 and 2013 were cultured for Brucella (n = 150). Serum samples collected from live capture−released seals (n = 343) between 1997 and 2012 were tested for Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBT) and a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). In total, 16% of seals cultured had Brucella isolated from one or more tissues, but there were no pathological signs of infection. The cELISA results were more sensitive than the RBT results, showing that overall 25.4% of seals were seropositive, with the highest seroprevalence in juveniles. As there was no evidence of either a higher seroprevalence or higher circulating antibody levels in seropositive animals in the areas with the greatest declines, it was concluded that Brucella infection is likely not a major contributing factor to recent declines. However, the consistently high proportion of seals exposed to Brucella indicates possible endemicity in these populations, likely due to B. pinnipedialis, which has demonstrated a preference for pinniped hosts. Importantly, given the close proximity between seals, humans and livestock in many areas, there is the potential for cross-species infections.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Exposure of harbour seals Phoca vitulina to Brucella in declining populations across Scotland

Kershaw¹,

Stubberfield²,

Foster³

et al. 2017

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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“…The gELISA has extensively been used for the diagnosis on Brucella infections in marine mammals (28,46,48,49), and the interaction of protein G to antibodies is known to depend on pH conditions (protein G package manual; Pierce Biotechnology). Accordingly, we explored the binding of protein G-HRP against odontocete immunoglobulins in the two recommended buffers and compared it to the binding of bovine antibodies (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serological Diagnosis of Brucella Infections in Odontocetes

Hernández-Mora

Manire

González-Barrientos

et al. 2009

Clin Vaccine Immunol

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Brucella ceti causes disease in Odontoceti. The absence of control serum collections and the diversity of cetaceans have hampered the standardization of serological tests for the diagnosis of cetacean brucellosis. Without a "gold" standard for sensitivity and specificity determination, an alternative approach was followed. We designed an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) that recognizes immunoglobulins G (IgGs) from 17 odontocete species as a single group. For the standardization, we used Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus lipopolysaccharides, serum samples from seven resident odontocetes with no history of infectious disease displaying negative rose bengal test (RBT) reactions, and serum samples from seven dolphins infected with B. ceti. We compared the performance of the iELISA with those of the protein G ELISA (gELISA), the competitive ELISA (cELISA), and the immunofluorescence (IF) and dot blot (DB) tests, using 179 odontocete serum samples and RBT as the reference. The diagnostic potential based on sensitivity and specificity of the iELISA was superior to that of gELISA and cELISA. The correlation and agreement between the iELISA and the gELISA were relatively good (R i/g 2 ‫؍‬ 0.65 and i/g ‫؍‬ 0.66, respectively), while the correlation and agreement of these two ELISAs with cELISA were low (R i/c 2 ‫؍‬ 0.46, R g/c 2 ‫؍‬ 0.37 and i/c ‫؍‬ 0.62, g/c ‫؍‬ 0.42). In spite of using the same anti-odontocete IgG antibody, the iELISA was more specific than were the IF and DB tests. An association between high antibody titers and the presence of neurological symptoms in dolphins was observed. The prediction is that iELISA based on broadly cross-reacting anti-dolphin IgG antibody would be a reliable test for the diagnosis of brucellosis in odontocetes, including families not covered in this study.Brucellosis is a disease of terrestrial and marine mammals and a relevant zoonosis caused by intracellular bacteria of the genus Brucella (34). In the last 2 decades, several strains of Brucella have been isolated from marine mammals, primarily from dolphins, porpoises, and seals (6, 11, 13-16, 18, 28, 42, 43, 49). For these marine strains, species names were proposed, first as a single cluster called "Brucella maris" (27) and, thereafter, divided into "Brucella cetaceae" and "Brucella pinnipediae" (7). Recently, the proposal of incorporating these marine strains as two new species was accepted; however, their names were corrected to Brucella ceti and Brucella pinnipedialis (15). The former Brucella species is predominant in dolphins and whales, while the latter is mainly isolated from seals and sea lions. These two new marine Brucella species can be further divided into several strains according to molecular biotyping (20), indicating that the species group is heterogeneous. The marine species display phenotypic resemblance with smooth Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis, possessing the same relevant surface antigens that are commonly used for the serological diagnosis of brucellosis in bovines,...

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“…The aetiologic agent is a Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacterium of the genus Brucella. From the 1990s onward, previously unknown strains of Brucella were detected in free-ranging pinnipeds and cetaceans from the Americas, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands and the Antarctic as well as in captive Tursiops truncatus (Ewalt et al 1994, Ross et al 1994, Ohishi et al 2003, Duignan et al 2005, Tachibana et al 2006, Hernández-Mora et al 2008. Phylogenetic analyses show that the marine Brucella isolates form a new group that originates very near the B. ovis branch and that the seal, porpoise and dolphin strains diverged a very long time ago, concurrent with the evolution of their hosts (Bourg et al 2007).…”

Section: Brucellosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging infectious diseases in cetaceans worldwide and the possible role of environmental stressors

Bressem¹,

Raga²,

Guardo³

et al. 2009

Dis. Aquat. Org.

276

270

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We reviewed prominent emerging infectious diseases of cetaceans, examined their potential to impact populations, re-assessed zoonotic risk and evaluated the role of environmental stressors. Cetacean morbilliviruses and papillomaviruses as well as Brucella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are thought to interfere with population abundance by inducing high mortalities, lowering reproductive success or by synergistically increasing the virulence of other diseases. Severe cases of lobomycosis and lobomycosis-like disease (LLD) may contribute to the death of some dolphins. The zoonotic hazard of marine mammal brucellosis and toxoplasmosis may have been underestimated, attributable to frequent misdiagnoses and underreporting, particularly in developing countries and remote areas where carcass handling without protective gear and human consumption of fresh cetacean products are commonplace. Environmental factors seem to play a role in the emergence and pathogenicity of morbillivirus epidemics, lobomycosis/LLD, toxoplasmosis, poxvirus-associated tattoo skin disease and, in harbour porpoises, infectious diseases of multifactorial aetiology. Inshore and estuarine cetaceans incur higher risks than pelagic cetaceans due to habitats often severely altered by anthropogenic factors such as chemical and biological contamination, direct and indirect fisheries interactions, traumatic injuries from vessel collisions and climate change.

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Antibodies to Brucella spp. in Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins from the Solomon Islands

Cited by 27 publications

References 13 publications

Exposure of harbour seals Phoca vitulina to Brucella in declining populations across Scotland

Exposure of harbour seals Phoca vitulina to Brucella in declining populations across Scotland

Serological Diagnosis of Brucella Infections in Odontocetes

Emerging infectious diseases in cetaceans worldwide and the possible role of environmental stressors

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