Pathogen Prevalence in Cetaceans Stranded along the Italian Coastline between 2015 and 2020
The monitoring of stranded marine mammals represents a strategic method to assess their health, conservation status, and ecological role in the marine ecosystem. Networks worldwide track stranding events for the passive monitoring of mortality patterns, emerging and reemerging pathogens, climate change, and environmental degradation from a One Health perspective. This study summarizes pathogen prevalence data from the Italian Stranding Network (ISN) derived from post-mortem investigations on cetaceans found dead stranded along the Italian coastline between 2015 and 2020. The decomposition of the carcasses and logistics limited the post-mortem examination to 585 individuals, out of 1236 single-stranding reports. The most relevant pathogens identified were Cetacean <i>Morbillivirus</i>, <i>Herpesvirus</i>, <i>Brucella</i> spp., and <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i>, whose roles as environmental stressors are well known, despite their real impact still needing to be investigated in depth. Statistical analysis showed that age and sex seem to be positively related to the presence of pathogens. This study represents the first step in harmonizing post-mortem investigations, which is crucial for evidence-based conservation efforts. Implementing diagnostic and forensic frameworks could offer an indirect insight into the systematic monitoring of diseases to improve the identification of regional and temporal hotspots in which to target specific mitigation, management, and conservation strategies.
Authors
- Giuseppe Lucifora (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1267-0391)
- Cristina Casalone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5271-832X)
- Federica Giorda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9906-3954)
- Cristiano Cocumelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0524-9054)
- Silva Rubini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1764-5804)
- Antonio Pintore
- Alessandra Di Donato (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8940-4778)
- Fabio Di Nocera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3370-9406)
- Guido Pietroluongo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8578-6038)
- Donatella Belluscio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1051-7949)
- Anna Toffan
- Silvia Crotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4798-1964)
- Ilaria Pascucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0041-4599)
- Cinzia Centelleghe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7577-2107)
- Roberto Puleio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3461-3353)
- Daniele Denurra
- Sergio Migliore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6685-7109)
- Sandro Mazzariol (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4756-1871)
- Leonardo Mariño (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4971-8235)
- Giovanni Di Guardo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4592-1084)
- Cristina Canonico (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-7185)
- Carla Grattarola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4627-4157)
- Letizia Marsili (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2474-4587)
- Stefano Gavaudan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6338-9100)
- Ludovica Di Renzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2400-1740)
- Enrica Berio
- Federica Marcer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8837-866X)
- Gabriella Di Francesco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5002-9969)
- Giuliana Terracciano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8415-6077)
- A. Petrella
Institutions
- University of Siena (IT)
- University of Teramo (IT)
- University of Padua (IT)
- Centro Studi Industriali (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Sicilia (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna "Bruno Ubertini" (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche (IT)
- Regione del Veneto (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise G. Caporale (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d'Aosta (IT)
- Regione Liguria
Publication Details
- Journal
- Pathogens
- Published
- 2024-09-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13090762
- Citations
- 12
- Primary Topic
- Marine animal studies overview
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.51
Funders
- Università degli Studi di Padova
- Università degli Studi di Pavia