Bartonella species detection in captive, stranded and free-ranging cetaceans

Craig Harms , Ricardo Maggi , Edward Breitschwerdt , Connie Clemons-Chevis , Mobashir Solangi , David Rotstein , Patricia Fair , Larry Hansen , Aleta Hohn , Gretchen Lovewell , William Mclellan , D. Pabst , Teri Rowles , Lori Schwacke , Forrest Townsend , Randall Wells

We present prevalence of Bartonella spp. for multiple cohorts of wild and captive cetaceans. One hundred and six cetaceans including 86 bottlenose dolphins (71 free-ranging, 14 captive in a facility with a dolphin experiencing debility of unknown origin, 1 stranded), 11 striped dolphins, 4 harbor porpoises, 3 Risso's dolphins, 1 dwarf sperm whale and 1 pygmy sperm whale (all stranded) were sampled. Whole blood ($n = 95$ live animals) and tissues ($n = 15$ freshly dead animals) were screened by PCR ($n = 106$ animals), PCR of enrichment cultures ($n = 50$ animals), and subcultures ($n = 50$ animals). Bartonella spp. were detected from 17 cetaceans, including 12 by direct extraction PCR of blood or tissues, 6 by PCR of enrichment cultures, and 4 by subculture isolation. Bartonella spp. were more commonly detected from the captive (6/14, 43%) than from free-ranging (2/71, 2.8%) bottlenose dolphins, and were commonly detected from the stranded animals (9/21, 43%; 3/11 striped dolphins, 3/4 harbor porpoises, 2/3 Risso's dolphins, 1/1 pygmy sperm whale, 0/1 dwarf sperm whale, 0/1 bottlenose dolphin). Sequencing identified a Bartonella spp. most similar to B. henselae San Antonio 2 in eight cases (4 bottlenose dolphins, 2 striped dolphins, 2 harbor porpoises), B. henselae Houston 1 in three cases (2 Risso's dolphins, 1 harbor porpoise), and untyped in six cases (4 bottlenose dolphins, 1 striped dolphin, 1 pygmy sperm whale). Although disease causation has not been established, Bartonella species were detected more commonly from cetaceans that were overtly debilitated or were cohabiting in captivity with a debilitated animal than from free-ranging animals. The detection of Bartonella spp. from cetaceans may be of pathophysiological concern.

Mots clés: Bartonella; cetacean; dolphin; porpoise

Domaines: Biologie moléculaire; Génétique animale; Biologie cellulaire; Interactions cellulaires [q-bio.CB]; Microbiologie et Parasitologie; Immunologie; Neurosciences [q-bio.NC]; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Biologie animale

Craig Harms, Ricardo Maggi, Edward Breitschwerdt, Connie Clemons-Chevis, Mobashir Solangi, et al.. Bartonella species detection in captive, stranded and free-ranging cetaceans. Veterinary Research, 2008, 39 (6), pp.1. ⟨10.1051/vetres:2008036⟩. ⟨hal-00902948⟩