Scientists are now looking at the deaths of hundreds of dolphins that were laying all around the northern Gulf o f Mexico last year. A total of 580 dolphins and whales between February ’10 and October 23rd were found. So far, 5 of the 21 that they have looked at have the bacteria, Brucella. Brucella functions as facultative intracellular parasites. If a human is infected with this bacterium, it is characterized by acute undulating fever, headache, night sweats, fatigue, & anorexia.
Scientists are trying to determine if the dolphins were infected with the bacteria in the BP oil spill last year. The exposure to oil actually weakens the immune system of dolphins. The reason of death may be that the bacterium just became more lethal, because dolphins are more susceptible to being infected or the bacterium has actually changed causing a more serious disease.
The fact that there were so many neonatal deaths is what made their focus turn on Brucella. Of the 21 animals tested, nine were tested from waters off Louisiana and of those nine; five were tested positive for Brucella. Many of the dolphins that have been found are no longer useful to find more cases because of their decomposed state. “Only about 15% of dolphins stranded are what we consider ideal for a diagnostic workup,” says veterinary epidemiologist, Stephanie Venn-Watson. About 100-200 cases of this disease occur in the US each year but it is more common in much of the rest of the world where they do not have stable animal-disease programs.
1 comment:
Brucella seems like a very disastrous disease being that it could harm human beings with anorexia. This could affect human beings if it got to humans. The dolphins are what are being affected by this right now and even though its not good that these poor creatures are being harmed it is better than humans being affected by this.
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