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Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>A complete postmortem examination, including a computed tomography scan \u201cvirtopsy\u201d (virtual necropsy), gross necropsy, cytology, histology, and molecular diagnostics were performed to investigate the cause of death of a deceased adult male Atlantic spotted dolphin (<jats:italic>Stenella frontalis<\/jats:italic>) that stranded on Pensacola Beach, Florida, USA in February 2020. Significant findings included chronic inflammation of the meninges, brain, and spinal cord with intralesional protozoa (identified as <jats:italic>Sarcocystis speeri via<\/jats:italic> 18S rRNA and ITS-1 sequences), suppurative fungal tracheitis and bronchopneumonia (identified as <jats:italic>Aspergillus fumigatus via<\/jats:italic> ITS-2 gene sequence) and ulcerative bacterial glossitis (associated with a novel <jats:italic>Treponema<\/jats:italic> species, <jats:italic>Candidatus<\/jats:italic> Treponema stenella, identified <jats:italic>via<\/jats:italic> 23S rRNA gene sequence). This is the first reported case of <jats:italic>S. speeri<\/jats:italic> in a marine mammal. Little is understood about the epidemiology of <jats:italic>S. speeri<\/jats:italic>, including the identity of its intermediate hosts. The findings of this case suggest that <jats:italic>S. frontalis<\/jats:italic> may be a capable aberrant host and experience morbidity and mortality from this parasite. It is suspected that the novel <jats:italic>Treponema<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Aspergillus fumigatus<\/jats:italic> infections were opportunistic or secondary to immunosuppression, either due to <jats:italic>S. speeri<\/jats:italic> infection or other co-morbidities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2023.1132161","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,3]],"date-time":"2023-04-03T05:08:19Z","timestamp":1680498499000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Case report: Sarcocystis speeri, Aspergillus fumigatus, and novel Treponema sp. infections in an adult Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Sarah Emily","family":"Balik","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert James","family":"Ossiboff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicole Indra","family":"Stacy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"James F. 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