title: Brucella ceti from two striped dolphins stranded on the Apulia coastline, Italy.
abstract: Since 1994, when Brucella ceti was first isolated from an aborted dolphin fetus, several cases have been reported worldwide. The first case of B. ceti in the Mediterranean (and in Italy), however, was recorded only in 2012, off the coast of Tuscany. Extensive studies, using serological and microbiological methods, have documented this bacterium in dolphins and demonstrated its zoonotic potential. We describe the typing of two B. ceti strains isolated from striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) stranded on the southern Apulia coastline. B. ceti isolates were conventionally typed, and then genotyped by both the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and the multilocus variable number of tandem repeats typing (MLVA) methodologies to infer phylogeny and potential epidemiological links between the two cases. The two isolates were identified through MLST analysis as belonging to the common sequence type 26 (ST26), while MLVA analysis, having established that the two isolates have identical profiles, assigned them to a novel genotype within cluster A - a unique representative of a new Mediterranean subcluster. The results thus revealed a link between the two cases studied, demonstrating the usefulness of MLST and MLVA for the epidemiological investigation of brucellae among marine mammals.
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e Molise 'G. Caporale', National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Via Campo Boario 64100, Teramo, Italy.
authors: Giuliano
authors: G
authors: Garofolo
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e Molise 'G. Caporale', National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Via Campo Boario 64100, Teramo, Italy.
authors: Katiuscia
authors: K
authors: Zilli
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata, Diagnostic Unit, Via Manfredonia 20, 71100, Foggia, Italy.
authors: Pasquale
authors: P
authors: Troiano
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata, Diagnostic Unit, Via Manfredonia 20, 71100, Foggia, Italy.
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Petrella
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e Molise 'G. Caporale', National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Via Campo Boario 64100, Teramo, Italy.
authors: Francesca
authors: F
authors: Marotta
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e Molise 'G. Caporale', National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Via Campo Boario 64100, Teramo, Italy.
authors: Gabriella
authors: G
authors: Di Serafino
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e Molise 'G. Caporale', National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Via Campo Boario 64100, Teramo, Italy.
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Ancora
authors: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e Molise 'G. Caporale', National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Via Campo Boario 64100, Teramo, Italy.
authors: Elisabetta
authors: E
authors: Di Giannatale
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002002:Brucella / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005838:Genotype; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D050706:Stenella / Q000382:microbiology*