Publications by authors named "Carla I Rivera-Perez"
Five adult Greater Caribbean manatees Trichechus manatus manatus were found stranded on various coasts of Puerto Rico; 2 stranded alive and 3 stranded dead. Clinical signs observed in live-stranded manatees included emaciation, weakness, bradypnea, arrhythmia, and nasal mucus discharge. Postmortem examinations revealed serosanguinous, mucohemorrhagic, or suppurative exudate in bronchi associated with luminal adult Pulmonicola cochleotrema (range: 18-182 trematodes), accompanied by pulmonary abscesses in 2 cases.
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- West Indian manatees carry various endoparasites, including the nasal trematode Pulmonicola cochleotrema, known to infect their respiratory tracts, particularly the nasal passages.
- This study marks the first molecular identification of P. cochleotrema in manatees from Puerto Rico and Florida, using a consensus DNA sequence of 1871 base pairs derived from samples collected from stranded manatees.
- The findings suggest that this nasal trematode shares similar molecular identity with other trematodes in the same taxonomic family, indicating potential marine mollusk hosts and raising questions about trematode species in freshwater-dwelling manatees in South America.
Article Synopsis
- The Antillean manatee, an endangered species found in the Atlantic from Florida to Brazil, was rescued in Puerto Rico after suffering severe injuries from a boat.
- The manatee exhibited health issues including blood disorders and infections linked to immunosuppression, along with genital lesions caused by a novel strain of papillomavirus, identified as TmPV5.
- After 2.5 months of veterinary care, the manatee successfully recovered and was released, marking the first documented case of papillomatosis in wild Antillean manatees.
Medical management and resolution of perinatal bilateral exophthalmia and secondary corneal ulcers in an Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) neonate from Puerto Rico.
Vet Ophthalmol
May 2022
Objective: To present a novel case of perinatal bilateral exophthalmos and corneal ulcers in a neonate Antillean manatee and describe the medical treatment that led to the resolution of the observed clinical signs and vision restoration.
Animal Studied: A manatee stranded alone in Puerto Rico on July 5, 2020.
Results: The manatee was found in critical condition with pronounced exophthalmos, lagophthalmos, and corneal opacification of both eyes (OU).
The West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus is divided into 2 subspecies: the Antillean (T. m. manatus) and Florida (T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxoplasma gondii is a feline protozoan reported to cause morbidity and mortality in manatees and other marine mammals. Given the herbivorous nature of manatees, ingestion of oocysts from contaminated water or seagrass is presumed to be their primary mode of infection. The objectives of this study were to investigate oocyst contamination of seagrass beds in Puerto Rico and determine the seroprevalence of T.
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