Abstract
A Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) pup from the southern Adriatic coast of Italy showed cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) and disseminated Toxoplasma gondii co-infection, which probably resulted from CeMV-induced immunosuppression. These findings are of concern for the conservation of this critically endangered species.
Highlights
A Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) pup from the southern Adriatic coast of Italy showed cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) and disseminated Toxoplasma gondii co-infection, which probably resulted from CeMV-induced immunosuppression
A monk seal pup was found alive along the southern Adriatic coast of Italy; it died after rehabilitation attempts
Lung tissue from a Mediterranean monk seal pup that died shortly after it was found along the southern Adriatic coast of Italy, showing positive immunostaining for morbillivirus antigen in bronchial/ bronchiolar and alveolar epithelial cells, both normal and hyperplastic
Summary
A Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) pup from the southern Adriatic coast of Italy showed cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) and disseminated Toxoplasma gondii co-infection, which probably resulted from CeMV-induced immunosuppression. A monk seal pup was found alive along the southern Adriatic coast of Italy; it died after rehabilitation attempts. We collected samples from the animal’s brain, spinal cord, lungs, liver, kidneys, lymph nodes, spleen, intestine, muscles, and tonsils for biomolecular analyses against viral and nonviral pathogens, with special emphasis on cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) [2,3] and Toxoplasma gondii [4] (Appendix, https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/EID/ article/27/4/20-4131-App1.pdf).
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