title: Brucella ceti infection in dolphins from the Western Mediterranean sea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Brucella ceti infections have been increasingly reported in cetaceans. Brucellosis in these animals is associated with meningoencephalitis, abortion, discospondylitis', subcutaneous abscesses, endometritis and other pathological conditions B. ceti infections have been frequently described in dolphins from both, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the Mediterranean Sea, only two reports have been made: one from the Italian Tyrrhenian Sea and the other from the Adriatic Sea.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We describe the clinical and pathological features of three cases of B. ceti infections in three dolphins stranded in the Mediterranean Catalonian coast. One striped dolphin had neurobrucellosis, showing lethargy, incoordination and lateral swimming due to meningoencephalitis, A B. ceti infected bottlenose dolphin had discospondylitis, and another striped dolphin did not show clinical signs or lesions related to Brucella infection. A detailed characterization of the three B. ceti isolates was performed by bacteriological, molecular, protein and fatty acid analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All the B. ceti strains originating from Mediterranean dolphins cluster together in a distinct phylogenetic clade, close to that formed by B. ceti isolates from dolphins inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean. Our study confirms the severity of pathological signs in stranded dolphins and the relevance of B. ceti as a pathogen in the Mediterranean Sea.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isidoro-Ayza
authors.forename: Nazareth
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Villalobos
authors.forename: Lola
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guzmán-Verri
authors.forename: Pilar M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alegre
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barberán
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chacón-Díaz
authors.forename: Esteban
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chaves-Olarte
authors.forename: Rocio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: González-Barrientos
authors.forename: Edgardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Blasco
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Domingo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002002:Brucella / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004289:Dolphins; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008522:Mediterranean Sea / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic