{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T10:44:24Z","timestamp":1775817864351,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,20]],"date-time":"2024-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1724112000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Servei de Fauna i Flora (Generalitat de Catalunya)","award":["AG-2022-1439"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AG-2022-1439"]}]},{"name":"Servei de Diagn\u00f2stic de Patologia Veterin\u00e0ria (Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona)","award":["AG-2022-1439"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AG-2022-1439"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Neurobrucellosis in cetaceans, caused by Brucella ceti, is a relevant cause of death in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Mediterranean Sea. Serological tests are not used as a routinary technique for the diagnosis of this infection. We briefly describe the pathological findings of nine free-ranging stranded cetaceans diagnosed with Brucella disease or infection in our veterinary necropsy service from 2012 to 2022. The findings included focal diskospondylitis and non-suppurative meningitis, choroiditis and radiculitis. Additionally, an exploratory serological study was conducted in sixty-six frozen sera collected in the period 2012\u20132022 from fifty-seven striped dolphins, five Risso\u2019s dolphins (Grampus griseus), two common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), one common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and one pilot whale (Globicephala melas) to compare antibody levels in Brucella-infected (n = 8) and non-infected (n = 58) animals, classified by the cause of death, sex, age class and cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) infection status. The authors hypothesized that active infection in cases of neurobrucellosis would elicit a stronger, detectable humoral response compared to subclinical infections. We performed a commercial competition ELISA (cELISA) using serial serum dilutions for each sample, considering a percentage of inhibition (PI) of \u226540% as positive. A titer of 1:160 was arbitrarily determined as the seropositivity threshold. Seropositive species included striped dolphins and Risso\u2019s dolphins. Seroprevalence was higher in animals with neurobrucellosis (87.5%) compared to the overall seroprevalence (31.8%) and to other causes of death, indicating, likely, a high sensitivity but low specificity for neurobrucellosis. Animals with chronic CeMV seemed to have higher seroprevalences, as well as juveniles, which also had a higher disease prevalence. These results indicate, as in other studies, that antibodies are not decisive against clinical brucellosis, although they may indicate a carrier state, and that CeMV may influence Brucella epidemiology. More research is required to elucidate the epidemiology and pathogenesis and to resolve the complicated host\u2013pathogen interaction in Brucella species.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14162417","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,22]],"date-time":"2024-08-22T04:26:57Z","timestamp":1724300817000},"page":"2417","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Serological Investigation for Brucella ceti in Cetaceans from the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0536-0115","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Martino","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterin\u00e0ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda","family":"Cuvertoret-Sanz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Servei de Diagn\u00f2stic de Patologia Veterin\u00e0ria, Facultat de Veterin\u00e0ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-2086-3310","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sarah","family":"Wilkinson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Servei de Diagn\u00f2stic de Patologia Veterin\u00e0ria, Facultat de Veterin\u00e0ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alberto","family":"Allepuz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterin\u00e0ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Albert","family":"Perlas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterin\u00e0ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8644-3560","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Llilianne","family":"Ganges","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IRTA\u2014Institut de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Programa de Sanitat Animal, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lola","family":"P\u00e9rez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultat de Veterin\u00e0ria de Barcelona, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9623-4826","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariano","family":"Domingo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterin\u00e0ria, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"448","DOI":"10.1177\/104063879400600408","article-title":"Characteristics of a Brucella Species from a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)","volume":"6","author":"Ewalt","year":"1994","journal-title":"J. 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