Fatal Infection in a Wild Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), Caused by Streptococcus agalactiae, Type Ia-ST7
by
Danny Morick 1,2,*, Nadav Davidovich 3
, Eyal Bigal 1,2, Ezra Rosenbluth 4, Arieli Bouznach 4, Assaf Rokney 5, Merav Ron 5, Natascha Wosnick 6, Dan Tchernov 1,2 and Aviad P. Scheinin 1,2
Danny Morick 1,2,*, Nadav Davidovich 3, Eyal Bigal 1,2, Ezra Rosenbluth 4, Arieli Bouznach 4, Assaf Rokney 5, Merav Ron 5, Natascha Wosnick 6, Dan Tchernov 1,2 and Aviad P. Scheinin 1,2
1
Department of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
2
Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
3
Israeli Veterinary Services, Bet Dagan 5025001, Israel
4
Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan 5025001, Israel
5
Government Central Laboratories, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem 91342, Israel
6
Departamento de Fisiologia, Centro Politécnico, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba 80060-000, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2020, 10(2), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10020284 (registering DOI)
Received: 20 January 2020 / Revised: 6 February 2020 / Accepted: 8 February 2020 / Published: 12 February 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacteria-Related Diseases in Fish Species)
Simple Summary
Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus, GBS) is a major fish pathogenic bacterium. In this study, we describe a fatal infection of a stranded wild sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) by a post-mortem examination, histopathology, classical bacteriology and advanced molecular methods. The bacterial agent was characterized as S. agalactiae, type Ia-ST7.
Streptococcus agalactiae is one of the most important fish pathogenic bacteria as it is responsible for epizootic mortalities in both wild and farmed species. S. agalactiae is also known as a zoonotic agent. In July 2018, a stranded wild sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), one of the most common shark species in the Mediterranean Sea, was found moribund on the seashore next to Netanya, Israel, and died a few hours later. A post-mortem examination, histopathology, classical bacteriology and advanced molecular techniques revealed a bacterial infection caused by S. agalactiae, type Ia-ST7. Available sequences publicly accessible databases and phylogenetic analysis suggest that the S. agalactiae isolated in this case is closely related to fish and human isolates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of a fatal streptococcosis in sandbar sharks.
Keywords:
Carcharhinus plumbeus; sandbar shark; Streptococcus agalactiae; streptococcosis; type Ia-ST7; whole genome sequencing (WGS); phylogeny
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
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MDPI and ACS Style
Morick, D.; Davidovich, N.; Bigal, E.; Rosenbluth, E.; Bouznach, A.; Rokney, A.; Ron, M.; Wosnick, N.; Tchernov, D.; Scheinin, A.P. Fatal Infection in a Wild Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), Caused by Streptococcus agalactiae, Type Ia-ST7. Animals 2020, 10, 284.
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