title: Morbillivirus infection in cetaceans stranded along the Italian coastline: pathological, immunohistochemical and biomolecular findings.
abstract: Morbilliviruses are recognized as biological agents highly impacting the health and conservation status of free-ranging cetaceans worldwide, as clearly exemplified by the two Dolphin Morbillivirus (DMV) epidemics of 1990-1992 and 2006-2008 among Mediterranean striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba). After these two epidemics, morbilliviral infection (MI) cases with peculiar neurobiological features were reported in striped dolphins stranded along the Spanish coastline. Affected cetaceans showed a subacute-to-chronic, non-suppurative encephalitis, with brain lesions strongly resembling those found in human "subacute sclerosing panencephalitis" and "old dog encephalitis". Brain was the only tissue in which morbilliviral antigen and/or genome could be detected. Beside a case of morbilliviral encephalitis in a striped dolphin's calf stranded in 2009, we observed 5 additional MI cases in 2 striped dolphins, 1 bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and 2 fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), all stranded in 2011 along the Italian coastline. Noteworthy, 3 of these animals (2 striped dolphins and 1 bottlenose dolphin) showed immunohistochemical (IHC) and/or biomolecular (PCR) evidence of morbilliviral antigen and/or genome exclusively in their brain, with 1 striped dolphin and 1 bottlenose dolphin also exhibiting a non-suppurative encephalitis. Furthermore, simultaneous IHC and PCR evidence of a Toxoplasma gondii coinfection was obtained in 1 fin whale. The above results are consistent with those reported in striped dolphins after the two MI epidemics of 1990-92 and 2006-2008, with evidence of morbilliviral antigen and/or genome being found exclusively in the brain tissue from affected animals.
authors.affiliation: University of Teramo, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Teramo, Italy. gdiguardo@unite.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Guardo
authors.forename: Cristina Esmeralda
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Di Francesco
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eleni
authors.forename: Cristiano
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cocumelli
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scholl
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casalone
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peletto
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mignone
authors.forename: Cristiana
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tittarelli
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Nocera
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leonardi
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marcer
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazzariol
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D050617:Fin Whale / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D018103:Morbillivirus; D018185:Morbillivirus Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D050706:Stenella / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*