title: Fluorescent microbead-based immunoassay for anti-Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae antibody detection in cetaceans.
abstract: A fluorescent microbead-based immunoassay (FMIA) for detection of anti-Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae antibodies in pigs was adapted for use in cetaceans. The FMIA was validated and adjusted using serum samples from 10 vaccinated captive bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus collected between 1 and 13 mo after immunization. The technique was then used to analyze specimens from 15 free-ranging cetaceans stranded alive on the Valencian Mediterranean coast between 2006 and 2014: 11 striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, 3 Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus and 1 bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. One of these wild animals was confirmed to have died from E. rhusiopathiae septicemia, but no anti-E. rhusiopathiae antibodies were detected in its serum, pericardial fluid or milk samples. Another free-ranging individual, which lacked any signs or lesions that might be indicative of E. rhusiopathiae infection, showed high fluorescence intensity similar to that measured in captive dolphins at 6-13 mo after vaccination. These results suggest that this animal underwent an E. rhusiopathiae infection several months before stranding. The findings in the present study suggest that FMIA can be useful for detecting anti-E. rhusiopathiae antibodies in cetaceans, and its application to free-ranging animals is particularly interesting because of the great value of these specimens. Furthermore, the FMIA can be multiplexed to allow the determination of up to 100 analytes per sample in a single well, thereby reducing the cost, time and sample volume needed.
authors.affiliation: VISAVET Center and Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melero
authors.forename: Luis G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Giménez-Lirola
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rubio-Guerri
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Crespo-Picazo
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sierra
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: García-Párraga
authors.forename: Francisco Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: García-Peña
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arbelo
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Álvaro
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valls
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Vizcaíno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D004289:Dolphins; D004888:Erysipelothrix / Q000276:immunology*; D004889:Erysipelothrix Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines