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Development of an indirect immunofluorescence technique for the evaluation of generated antibody titers against Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

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Abstract

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is the causative agent of erysipelas, a disease of many mammalian and avian species, mainly swine and turkeys. In cetaceans, erysipelas is considered to be the most common infection in juvenile individuals, which have not been vaccinated. Moreover, the disease manifest in both forms, the dermatologic and the acute septicemic forms, has been reported in various species of dolphins and whales. It is difficult to diagnose erysipelas by currently available approaches. Moreover, it is mainly based on culture methods and also PCR methods, which are currently being developed. At the present stage, prophylactic approaches are based on antibiotic therapy and vaccination mostly with porcine erysipelas vaccines. In the present study, an Indirect Immuno Fluorescence method for the detection of dolphin antibodies levels against E. rhusiopathiae was developed and applied in two different groups of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from Loro Parque (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) and L’Oceanogràfic de Valencia (Valencia, Spain) in order to check the tittering levels of antibodies after application of porcine erysipelas vaccines in the studied dolphins.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Loro Parque and L’Oceanogràfic de Valencia dolphin training team for their help in this work and also to Cristine Jo Dreisörner and Andrea Cádiz Ortiz from Loro Parque Veterinary Clinic and the staff from L’Oceanogràfic de Valencia Veterinary Clinic; thanks to them, the collection of samples for the development of this work was possible. JLM was funded by a Grant RYC-2011-08863 from the Ramón y Cajal Subprogramme of the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. MRB was funded by Becas Fundación Cajacanarias para Postgraduados 2014. The authors are also grateful to Loro Parque Fundación for funding this research. Finally, we are grateful to the managing direction of Loro Parque for allowing us to undertake this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Loro Parque, Avda. Loro Parque SN, 38400, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain

    María José Bernal-Guadarrama, Nuhacet Fernández-Gallardo, Rafael Zamora-Padrón & Víctor Pacheco

  2. L’Oceanogràfic de Valencia, Junta de Murs s/n, 46013, Valencia, Spain

    Daniel García-Parraga

  3. University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, Avda. Astrofísico Fco. Sánchez, S/N, 38203, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

    María Reyes-Batlle, Basilio Valladares, Jacob Lorenzo-Morales & Enrique Martínez-Carretero

Authors
  1. María José Bernal-Guadarrama
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  2. Daniel García-Parraga
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  3. Nuhacet Fernández-Gallardo
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  4. Rafael Zamora-Padrón
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  5. Víctor Pacheco
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  6. María Reyes-Batlle
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  7. Basilio Valladares
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  8. Jacob Lorenzo-Morales
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  9. Enrique Martínez-Carretero
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacob Lorenzo-Morales.

Additional information

Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

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Bernal-Guadarrama, M.J., García-Parraga, D., Fernández-Gallardo, N. et al. Development of an indirect immunofluorescence technique for the evaluation of generated antibody titers against Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Arch Microbiol 196, 785–790 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-014-1020-0

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