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5 July 2021 Occurrence of Mycoplasmas in Galapagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) and their Association with Other Respiratory Pathogens
María S. Sarzosa, Pádraig Duignan, Eugene J. DeRango, Cara Field, Carlos Ríos, Susan Sanchez, Eduardo Espinoza, Andrea Loyola, Danny Rueda, Diego Páez-Rosas
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

During the 2018 breeding season, an outbreak of respiratory disease occurred among Galapagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) that inhabit rookeries near urban areas with introduced fauna such as dogs and cats. Several sea lions had nasal discharge and respiratory distress and were in poor body condition. Eighteen sea lions were captured for a general health assessment including collection of blood for serology and nasal discharge for culture and PCR. Samples were analyzed for 15 respiratory pathogens known to infect cats, dogs, and marine mammals. There was no evidence for interspecies pathogen transmission between Galapagos sea lions and domestic animals. Several bacterial pathogens associated with respiratory tract infection in the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) were isolated. Mycoplasma spp. were identified by PCR in nasal discharge samples but were not the species commonly found in cats and dogs.

© Wildlife Disease Association 2021
María S. Sarzosa, Pádraig Duignan, Eugene J. DeRango, Cara Field, Carlos Ríos, Susan Sanchez, Eduardo Espinoza, Andrea Loyola, Danny Rueda, and Diego Páez-Rosas "Occurrence of Mycoplasmas in Galapagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) and their Association with Other Respiratory Pathogens," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 57(3), 623-627, (5 July 2021). https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-20-00081
Received: 14 May 2020; Accepted: 8 December 2020; Published: 5 July 2021
KEYWORDS
Galapagos sea lions
introduced fauna
Mycoplasma spp.
respiratory pathogens
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