First Detection of Hemotropic Mycoplasma sp. in Cetaceans of European Waters.
7 affiliations
- 1Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.
- 2Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
- 3VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre and Animal Health Department, Veterinary School, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
- 4Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, 46005 Valencia, Spain.
- 5Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre de Cantabria, 39690 Obregón, Cantabria, Spain.
- 6Red de Varamientos de Cantabria (REVARCA), 39690 Obregón, Cantabria, Spain.
- 7Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-270, SP, Brazil.
Abstract
Mycoplasma spp. are wall-less bacteria classified as hemotropic (hemoplasmas) and non-hemotropic that can cause disease and death in immunosuppressed hosts. While hemoplasmas have been described in cetaceans of the Americas, their presence in cetaceans of Europe remains unknown. In this study, we surveyed hemoplasma in cetaceans stranded in Cantabria (n = 20) and the Valencian Community (n = 48), Spain. Specifically, we used real-time PCR to test spleen and lung samples from 68 cetaceans of the families Delphinidae (n = 60), Phocoenidae (n = 4), Kogiidae (n = 3), and Ziphiidae (n = 1). Overall, 11.8% (8/68) were Mycoplasma-positive, all striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) of the Valencian Community. Two nucleotide sequence type (STs) were detected; one was identical to a hemoplasma from a short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) from Brazil, and the other showed 96.1% nucleotide identity with hemoplasma previously found in Bolivian river dolphins (Inia boliviensis), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and Candidatus Mycoplasma haemolamae of llamas (Lama glama) and alpacas (Vicugna pacos). Our findings broaden the known geographic range of hemoplasma in cetaceans, reporting for the first time its presence in dolphins in Europe. The health impacts of the detected hemoplasmas in cetaceans are still unknown.
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BibTeX
@article{sacristan2026first,
title = {{First Detection of Hemotropic Mycoplasma sp. in Cetaceans of European Waters.}},
author = {Carlos Sacristán and Alba Pereira and Ignacio Vargas-Castro and José Ángel Barasona and José Luis Crespo-Picazo and Daniel García-Párraga and Manena Fayos and Manuel Jesús Varas Cobo and Adrián Wipf Martínez and Teresa Gómez-Tejedor Martín and Aricia Duarte-Benvenuto and Ana de la Torre and Elena Neves and Irene Sacristán and Ana Carolina Ewbank},
journal = {Veterinary sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/vetsci13101090},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944184},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - First Detection of Hemotropic Mycoplasma sp. in Cetaceans of European Waters.
AU - Carlos Sacristán
AU - Alba Pereira
AU - Ignacio Vargas-Castro
AU - José Ángel Barasona
AU - José Luis Crespo-Picazo
AU - Daniel García-Párraga
AU - Manena Fayos
AU - Manuel Jesús Varas Cobo
AU - Adrián Wipf Martínez
AU - Teresa Gómez-Tejedor Martín
AU - Aricia Duarte-Benvenuto
AU - Ana de la Torre
AU - Elena Neves
AU - Irene Sacristán
AU - Ana Carolina Ewbank
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Veterinary sciences
DO - 10.3390/vetsci13101090
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944184
AB - Mycoplasma spp. are wall-less bacteria classified as hemotropic (hemoplasmas) and non-hemotropic that can cause disease and death in immunosuppressed hosts. While hemoplasmas have been described in cetaceans of the Americas, their presence in cetaceans of Europe remains unknown. In this study, we surveyed hemoplasma in cetaceans stranded in Cantabria (n = 20) and the Valencian Community (n = 48), Spain. Specifically, we used real-time PCR to test spleen and lung samples from 68 cetaceans of the families Delphinidae (n = 60), Phocoenidae (n = 4), Kogiidae (n = 3), and Ziphiidae (n = 1). Overall, 11.8% (8/68) were Mycoplasma-positive, all striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) of the Valencian Community. Two nucleotide sequence type (STs) were detected; one was identical to a hemoplasma from a short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) from Brazil, and the other showed 96.1% nucleotide identity with hemoplasma previously found in Bolivian river dolphins (Inia boliviensis), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and Candidatus Mycoplasma haemolamae of llamas (Lama glama) and alpacas (Vicugna pacos). Our findings broaden the known geographic range of hemoplasma in cetaceans, reporting for the first time its presence in dolphins in Europe. The health impacts of the detected hemoplasmas in cetaceans are still unknown.
SN - 2306-7381
ER -