Investigation published in Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

January 13^rd, 2016

A fluorescent microbead-based immunoassay (FMIA) for detection of anti-Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae antibodies in pigs was adapted to cetaceans. The FMIA was validated and adjusted using serum samples from 10 vaccinated captive bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus collected between 1 and 13 mo after immunization. The technique was then used to analyze specimens from 15 free-ranging cetaceans stranded alive in the Valencian Mediterranean coast between 2006 and 2014, which comprised 11 striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, three Risso’s dolphins Grampus griseus and one bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. One of these wild animals was confirmed to have died from E. rhusiopathiae septicemia, but no anti-E. rhusiopathiae antibodies were detected in its serum, pericardial fluid or milk samples. Another free-ranging individual, which lacked any signs or lesions that might be indicative of E. rhusiopathiae infection, showed high fluorescence intensity similar to that measured in captive dolphins at 6–13 mo after vaccination. These results suggest that this animal underwent an E. rhusiopathiae infection several months before stranding. The findings in the present study suggest that FMIA can be useful for detecting anti-E. rhusiopathiae antibodies in cetaceans, and its application to free-ranging animals is particularly interesting because of the great value of these specimens. Furthermore, the FMIA can be multiplexed to allow the determination of up to 100 analytes per sample in a single well, reducing the cost, time and sample volume needed

Melero M., Gimenez-Lirola LG., Rubio-Guerri C., Crespo JL., Sierra E., Garcia-Parraga D., Garcia-Pena FJ., Arbelo M., Alvaro T., Valls M. and Sanchez-Vizcaino JM..

Fluorescent microbead-based immunoassay for anti-Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae antibody detection in cetaceans

Fluorescent microbead-based immunoassay for anti-Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae antibody detection in cetaceans

	Servicio de Inmunología Viral y Medicina Preventiva (SUAT). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Oceanogràfic. Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. Generalitat Valenciana.