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Venn-Watson S, Colegrove KM, Litz J, Kinsel M, Terio K, Saliki J, Fire S, Carmichael R, Chevis C, Hatchett W, Pitchford J, Tumlin M, Field C, Smith S, Ewing R, Fauquier D, Lovewell G, Whitehead H, Rotstein D, McFee W, Fougeres E, Rowles T. Adrenal Gland and Lung Lesions in Gulf of Mexico Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Found Dead following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0126538. [PMID: 25992681 PMCID: PMC4439104 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 03/30/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
A northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) cetacean unusual mortality event (UME) involving primarily bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama began in February 2010 and continued into 2014. Overlapping in time and space with this UME was the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, which was proposed as a contributing cause of adrenal disease, lung disease, and poor health in live dolphins examined during 2011 in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. To assess potential contributing factors and causes of deaths for stranded UME dolphins from June 2010 through December 2012, lung and adrenal gland tissues were histologically evaluated from 46 fresh dead non-perinatal carcasses that stranded in Louisiana (including 22 from Barataria Bay), Mississippi, and Alabama. UME dolphins were tested for evidence of biotoxicosis, morbillivirus infection, and brucellosis. Results were compared to up to 106 fresh dead stranded dolphins from outside the UME area or prior to the DWH spill. UME dolphins were more likely to have primary bacterial pneumonia (22% compared to 2% in non-UME dolphins, P = .003) and thin adrenal cortices (33% compared to 7% in non-UME dolphins, P = .003). In 70% of UME dolphins with primary bacterial pneumonia, the condition either caused or contributed significantly to death. Brucellosis and morbillivirus infections were detected in 7% and 11% of UME dolphins, respectively, and biotoxin levels were low or below the detection limit, indicating that these were not primary causes of the current UME. The rare, life-threatening, and chronic adrenal gland and lung diseases identified in stranded UME dolphins are consistent with exposure to petroleum compounds as seen in other mammals. Exposure of dolphins to elevated petroleum compounds present in coastal GoM waters during and after the DWH oil spill is proposed as a cause of adrenal and lung disease and as a contributor to increased dolphin deaths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Venn-Watson
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Kathleen M. Colegrove
- University of Illinois, Zoological Pathology Program, Maywood, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Jenny Litz
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Michael Kinsel
- University of Illinois, Zoological Pathology Program, Maywood, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Karen Terio
- University of Illinois, Zoological Pathology Program, Maywood, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Jeremiah Saliki
- Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Spencer Fire
- NOAA National Ocean Service, Marine Biotoxins Program, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
- Florida Institute of Technology Department of Biological Sciences, Melbourne, Florida, United States of America
| | - Ruth Carmichael
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama, Dauphin Island, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Connie Chevis
- Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Wendy Hatchett
- Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Jonathan Pitchford
- Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Mandy Tumlin
- Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Cara Field
- Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Suzanne Smith
- Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Ruth Ewing
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Deborah Fauquier
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | | | - Heidi Whitehead
- Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
| | - David Rotstein
- Marine Mammal Pathology Services, Olney, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Wayne McFee
- National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Erin Fougeres
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, St. Petersburg, Florida, United States of America
| | - Teri Rowles
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
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Smith CR, Solano M, Lutmerding BA, Johnson SP, Meegan JM, Le-Bert CR, Emory-Gomez F, Cassle S, Carlin K, Jensen ED. Pulmonary ultrasound findings in a bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus population. DISEASES OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS 2012; 101:243-255. [PMID: 23324421 DOI: 10.3354/dao02537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Lung disease is common among wild and managed populations of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus. The purpose of the study was to apply standardized techniques to the ultrasound evaluation of dolphin lungs, and to identify normal and abnormal sonographic findings associated with pleuropulmonary diseases. During a 5 yr period (2005 to 2010), 498 non-cardiac thoracic ultrasound exams were performed on bottlenose dolphins at the Navy Marine Mammal Program in San Diego, California, USA. Exams were conducted as part of routine physical exams, diagnostic workups, and disease monitoring. In the majority of routine exams, no abnormal pleural or pulmonary findings were detected with ultrasound. Abnormal findings were typically detected during non-routine exams to identify and track disease progression or resolution; therefore, abnormal results are overrepresented in the study. In order of decreasing prevalence, abnormal sonographic findings included evidence of alveolar-interstitial syndrome, pleural effusion, pulmonary masses, and pulmonary consolidation. Of these findings, alveolar-interstitial syndrome was generally nonspecific as it represented several possible disease states. Pairing ultrasound findings with clinical signs was critical to determine relevance. Pleural effusion, pulmonary masses, and pulmonary consolidation were relatively straightforward to diagnose and interpret. Further diagnostics were performed to obtain definitive diagnoses when appropriate, specifically ultrasound-guided thoracocentesis, fine needle aspirates, and lung biopsies, as well as radiographs and computed tomography (CT) exams. Occasionally, post mortem gross necropsy and histopathology data were available to provide confirmation of diagnoses. Thoracic ultrasound was determined to be a valuable diagnostic tool for detecting pleural and pulmonary diseases in dolphins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia R Smith
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, California 92106, USA.
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Genome sequence of the human- and animal-pathogenic strain Nocardia cyriacigeorgica GUH-2. J Bacteriol 2012; 194:2098-9. [PMID: 22461543 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00161-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The pathogenic strain Nocardia cyriacigeorgica GUH-2 was isolated from a fatal human nocardiosis case, and its genome was sequenced. The complete genomic sequence of this strain contains 6,194,645 bp, an average G+C content of 68.37%, and no plasmids. We also identified several protein-coding genes to which N. cyriacigeorgica's virulence can potentially be attributed.
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