Serological Diagnosis of Infection in Cetaceans by Rapid Serum Agglutination Test and Competitive ELISA with and as Antigens.

Rose Bengal antigen and smooth lipopolysaccharide (s-LPS) were produced from a field strain of ("homologous" antigens) and from the reference strain S99 ("heterologous" antigens); they are currently used for the diagnosis of brucellosis in cattle, water buffaloes, sheep, goats, and pigs, as recommended in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). "Homologous" and "heterologous" antigens were used in a rapid serum agglutination test (Rose Bengal test, RBT) and a competitive ELISA assay (c-ELISA) to test a panel of sera, blood, and other body fluids (cerebrospinal fluid, pericardial fluid, tracheal fluid, and aqueous humor) collected from 71 individuals belonging to five cetacean species (; ; ; ; and ), which were found stranded on the Italian coastline. Six animals were positive for spp.

Amyloid-β and phosphorylated tau screening in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) brains from Italy reveals distinct immunohistochemical patterns correlating with age and co-morbidity.

Cetacean brains are uniquely adapted to diving, but can be affected by diseases and exposure to toxins, triggering neurodegenerative processes that may cause stranding. Some species exhibit a significant post-reproductive lifespan (PRLS), increasing the likelihood of observing cumulative and age-related pathology. Immunohistochemistry against amyloid-β and hyperphosphorylated tau proteins is increasingly implemented to assess Alzheimer's Disease-like neuropathology in cetaceans, but comparisons between geographically distinct populations, animals of different age groups, sex, and with concomitant pathologies are lacking.

Central Nervous System Disorders of Marine Mammals: Models for Human Disease?

This article deals with Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders of marine mammals as putative neuropathology and neuropathogenesis models for their human and, to some extent, their animal "counterparts" in a dual "One Health" and "Translational Medicine" perspective. Within this challenging context, special emphasis is placed upon Alzheimer's disease (AD), provided that AD-like pathological changes have been reported in the brain tissue of stranded cetacean specimens belonging to different Odontocete species. Further examples of potential comparative pathology interest are represented by viral infections and, in particular, by "Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis" (SSPE), a rare neurologic in patients infected with (MeV).

Measles Virus-Induced Immune Amnesia and SARS-CoV-2 Evolution.

An interesting article recently published in Medicine reports a variable risk of persistent COVID-19 among patients affected by different immunodeficiency conditions [...

Flood-Associated, Land-to-Sea Pathogens' Transfer: A One Health Perspective.

Similarly to many other countries across the globe, several floods have been recorded in Italy throughout the last few decades, including those of catastrophic magnitude that occurred in the Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany regions last May and a few weeks ago, respectively [...

Alien Crabs as Potential Hosts of Pathogens Impacting Marine Megafauna's Health and Conservation.

Climate change, with a special emphasis on global warming, is believed to be a key driver of the accelerated rate of alien species expansion into the Mediterranean Sea basin and, more generally, into all marine and oceanic ecosystems [...

Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological Data.

infections have been increasingly reported in cetaceans. In this study, we analyzed all cases of infection detected in striped dolphins stranded along the Italian coastline between 2012 and 2021 ( = 24). We focused on the pathogenic role of through detailed pathological studies, and ad hoc microbiological, biomolecular, and serological investigations, coupled with a comparative genomic analysis of the strains.

Tsunami-Driven Spread of and Other Microbial Pathogens: Implications for Cetacean Health and Conservation.

Six years have now gone by since Dr James T [...

The SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic at the Wildlife-Domestic Animal-Human Interface.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hitherto killed almost 7 million people worldwide-although the true mortality figures could be much higher-we have witnessed a progressively expanding number of domestic and wild mammalian species acquiring Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, both spontaneously and experimentally [...

Multimodal Assessment of Bottlenose Dolphin Auditory Nuclei Using 7-Tesla MRI, Immunohistochemistry and Stereology.

The importance of assessing neurochemical processes in the cetacean brain as a tool for monitoring their cognitive health and to indirectly model human neurodegenerative conditions is increasingly evident, although available data are largely semiquantitative. High-resolution MRI for post-mortem brains and stereology allow for quantitative assessments of the cetacean brain. In this study, we scanned two brains of bottlenose dolphins in a 7-Tesla (7T) MR scanner and assessed the connectivity of the inferior colliculi and ventral cochlear nuclei using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

SARS-CoV-2 Susceptibility of Domestic Animals and Wildlife in the Media Narrative.

Since its discovery in December 2019 in China, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over 630 million cases of human infection globally, along with almost 7 million deaths due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (World Health Organisation, WHO) [...