title: Infection of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) with terrestrial Brucella spp.
abstract: Infections with Brucella ceti and pinnipedialis are prevalent in marine mammals worldwide. A total of 22 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) were examined to determine their exposure to Brucella spp. at San Esteban Island in the Gulf of California, Mexico, in June and July 2011. Although samples of blood, vaginal mucus and milk cultured negative for these bacteria, the application of rose Bengal, agar gel immunodiffusion, PCR and modified fluorescence polarization assays found that five animals (22.7%) had evidence of exposure to Brucella strains. The data also suggested that in two of these five sea lions the strains involved were of terrestrial origin, a novel finding in marine mammals. Further work will be required to validate and determine the epidemiological significance of this finding.
authors: Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán 04510, Mexico.
authors: Rosalía
authors: R
authors: Avalos-Téllez
authors: Campo Experimental Río Bravo, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Río Bravo, Tam 88900, Mexico. Electronic address: carlosrami@gmail.com.
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Ramírez-Pfeiffer
authors: Dirección de Investigación, Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González, Tlalpan 14080, Mexico.
authors: Rigoberto
authors: R
authors: Hernández-Castro
authors: Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Disciplinarias en Microbiología Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias, Cuajimalpa 05110, Mexico.
authors: Efrén
authors: E
authors: Díaz-Aparicio
authors: Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, IL 60513, USA.
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Sánchez-Domínguez
authors: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional de Sinaloa, Unidad Guasave, Sin 81101, Mexico.
authors: Alan
authors: A
authors: Zavala-Norzagaray
authors: Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán 04510, Mexico.
authors: Beatriz
authors: B
authors: Arellano-Reynoso
authors: Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán 04510, Mexico.
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Suárez-Güemes
authors: Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA; Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA.
authors: A Alonso
authors: AA
authors: Aguirre
authors: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, La Paz, Baja California Sur 23096, Mexico.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Aurioles-Gamboa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002002:Brucella / Q000145:classification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008800:Mexico; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology; D009093:Mucus / Q000382:microbiology; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D046070:Sea Lions; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: Agar gel immunodiffusion; Brucella spp.; California sea lion; Fluorescence polarization; PCR; Rose Bengal test