Colleagues,
We would like to inform you that the following article was recently
published in /Diseases of Aquatic Organisms/.
*Lacaziosis and lacaziosis-like prevalence among wild, common bottlenose
dolphins /Tursiops truncatus/ from the west coast of Florida, USA.*
Leslie Burdett Hart, Dave S. Rotstein, Randall S. Wells, Kim
Bassos-Hull, Lori H. Schwacke
ABSTRACT: Lacaziosis (lobomycosis; /Lacazia loboi/) is a fungal skin
disease that naturally occurs only in humans and dolphins. The first
reported case of lacaziosis in a bottlenose dolphin /Tursiops truncatus/
occurred in 1970 in Sarasota Bay, Florida, USA, and subsequent photo-ID
monitoring of the Sarasota Bay dolphin population has revealed
persistence of the disease. The objectives of this study were to
estimate lacaziosis prevalence (/P/) in 2 bottlenose dolphin populations
on the west coast of Florida (Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor) and
compare disease occurrence to other published estimates of lacaziosis in
dolphin populations across the globe. Historic photographic records of
dolphins captured and released for health assessment purposes (Sarasota
Bay) and photo-ID studies (Charlotte Harbor) were screened for evidence
of lesions consistent with lacaziosis. Health assessment data revealed a
prevalence of lacaziosis in the Sarasota Bay bottlenose dolphin
population between 2 and 3%, and analyses of photo-ID data provided a
lacaziosis-like prevalence estimate of 2% for Charlotte Harbor dolphins.
With the exception of lacaziosis prevalence estimates for dolphins
inhabiting the Indian River Lagoon (/P/ = 0.068; /P/ = 0.12), no
statistically significant differences were seen among Sarasota Bay,
Charlotte Harbor, and other published estimates. Although lacaziosis is
a rare disease among these dolphin populations, studies that assess
disease burden among different populations can assist with the
surveillance of this zoonotic pathogen.
/Diseases of Aquatic Organisms/, Volume 95, Issue 1, Pgs. 49-56.
Abstract link: http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/dao/v95/n1/p49-56/
Please make requests to: [email protected]
--
Leslie (Burdett) Hart, PhD
Jardon and Howard Technologies (JHT)
National Ocean Service
Hollings Marine Laboratory
331 Ft. Johnson Rd.
Charleston, SC 29412
Work: 843-725-4831
Fax: 843-762-8737
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