Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Fusariosis in a Captive South American Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens): A Case Report

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Mycopathologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Superficial mycoses are commonly reported in captive pinnipeds, usually maintained in wet and warm environments, favorable to fungal growth. Most superficial mycoses in pinnipeds have been described as difficult to treat; however, the majority of the reports come from past decades. Cutaneous lesions associated with opportunistic Fusarium sp. infections have been previously recognized in this taxon. We described the clinical signs, associated lesions and diagnosis (thermography, imprint cytology, histopathology, culture, electron microscopy, PCR) of a fusariosis case by Fusarium sp. in the nails and skin of an adult male captive South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) recently transferred from another zoological institution, and its successful long-term treatment with Ketoconazole PO (60 days) and Miconazole solution spray TO, followed by Itraconazole PO (30 days). Herein we provide a successful approach to the diagnosis and treatment of fusariosis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

References

  1. Gage LJ, Amaya-Sherman L, Roletto J, Bently S. Clinical signs of San Miguel sea lion virus in debilitated California sea lions. J Zoo Wildl Med. 1990;21:79–83.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Tryland M, Klein J, Nordoy ES, Blix AS. Isolation and partial characterization of a parapoxvirus isolated from a skin lesion of a Weddell seal. Virus Res. 2005;108:83–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Nollens HH, Jacobson ER, Gulland FM, Beusse DO, Bossart GD, Hernandez JA, Klein PA, Condit RC. Pathology and preliminary characterization of a parapoxvirus isolated from a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). J Wildl Dis. 2006;42:23–32.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Rand CS. Nodular suppurative cutaneous cellulitis in a Galapagos sea lion. J Wildl Dis. 1975;11:325–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Wells SK, Gutter A, Van Meter K. Cutaneous mycobacteriosis in a harbor seal: attempted treatment with hyperbaric oxygen. J Zoo Wildl Med. 1990;21:73–8.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Kim KT, Lee SH, Kwak D. Treatment of naturally acquired demodectic mange with amitraz in two harbour seals (Phoca vitulina). Acta Vet Hung. 2015;63:352–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Frasca S Jr, Dunn JL, Cooke JC, Buck JD. Mycotic dermatitis in an Atlantic white-sided dolphin, a pygmy sperm whale, and two harbor seals. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1996;208:727–9.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Sós E, Molnár V, Lajos Z, Koroknai V, Gál J. Successfully treated dermatomycosis in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). J Zoo Wildl Med. 2013;44:462–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Waldorf A, Vedros NA. Fatty acid content of depot fat in the northern fur seal. J Wildl Dis. 1979;15:573–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Waldorf A, Vedros NA. Northern fur seal: the skin and fatty acids as a natural barrier to fungal penetration. Aquat Mamm. 1980;6:77–81.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Farnsworth RJ, McKeever PJ, Fletcher JA. Dermatomycosis in a harbor seal caused by Microsporum canis. J Zoo Anim Med. 1975;6:26–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Phillips PH, Davenport PK, Schultz DJ. Microsporum gypseum dermatophytosis in captive Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea). J Zoo Animal Med. 1986;17:136–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Pollock CG, Rohrbach B, Ramsay EC. Fungal dermatitis in captive pinnipeds. J Zoo Wildl Med. 2000;31:374–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Tanaka E, Kimura T, Wada S, Hatai K, Sonoda S. Dermatophytosis in a Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). J Vet Med Sci. 1994;56:551–3.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Nakagaki K, Hata K, Iwata E, Takeo K. Malassezia pachydermatis isolated from a South American sea lion (Otaria byronia) with dermatitis. J Vet Med Sci. 2000;62:901–3.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Reisfeld L, Henrique PC, Ribeiro B, Ippolito L, Coutinho SDA. Alopecia por Malassezia pachydermatis em um lobo-marinho-subantártico (Arctocephalus tropicalis)-relato de caso. Clín Vet. 2015;20:92–6.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Alvarez-Perez S, Mateos A, Dominguez L, Martinez-Nevado E, Blanco JL, Garcia ME. Isolation of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa from skin lesions in a Southern sea lion (Otaria flavescens): a case report. Vet Med (Praha). 2010;55:297–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Higgins R. Bacteria and fungi of marine mammals: a review. Can Vet J. 2000;41:105–16.

    PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Salter CE, Donnell KO, Sutton DA, Marancik DP, Knowles S, Clauss TM, Berliner AL, Camus AC. Dermatitis and systemic mycosis in lined seahorses Hippocampus erectus associated with a marine-adapted Fusarium solani species complex pathogen. Dis Aquat Organ. 2012;101:23–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Cabañes FJ, Alonso JM, Castellá G, Alegre F, Domingo M, Pont S. Cutaneous hyalohyphomycosis caused by Fusarium solani in a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta carreta L.). J Clin Microbiol. 1997;35:3343–5.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Montali RJ, Bush M, Strandberg JD, Janssen DL, Boness DJ, Whitla JC. Cyclic dermatitis associated with Fusarium sp. infection in pinnipeds. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1981;179:1198–202.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Zhang N, O’Donnell K, Sutton DA, Nalim FA, Summerbell RC, Padhye AA, Geiser DM. Members of the Fusarium solani species complex that cause infections in both humans and plants are common in the environment. J Clin Microbiol. 2006;44:2186–90.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Jain PK, Gupta VK, Misra AK, Gaur R, Bajpai V, Issar S. Current status of Fusarium infection in human and animal. Asian J Anim Vet Adv. 2011;6:201–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Dean TR, Kohan M, Betancourt D, Menetrez MY. A simple polymerase chain reaction-sequencing analysis capable of identifying multiple medically relevant filamentous fungal species. Mycopathologia. 2006;162:265–71.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Reidarson TH, McBain JF, Dalton LM, Rinaldi MG. Mycotic diseases. In: Dierauf AL, Gulland FMD, editors. CRC handbook of marine mammal medicine. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2001. p. 337–52.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  26. Migaki G, Jones SR. Mycotic diseases in marine mammals. In: Howard EB, editor. Pathobiology of marine mammal diseases. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 1983. p. 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Jorge Oyakawa and Juliana Marigo at the Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo for their technical support, Ricardo Cardoso, the pinniped trainers of the Aquário de São Paulo and Valeria Ruoppolo, DVM, for their expertise.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Patologia Comparada de Animais Selvagens, Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil

    Laura Reisfeld, Carlos Sacristán, Ana Carolina Ewbank & José Luiz Catão-Dias

  2. Aquário de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 04275-000, Brazil

    Laura Reisfeld, Paloma Canedo & Bruna Schwarz

  3. Grupo de Epidemiología y Sanidad Ambiental, Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (INIA-CISA), 28130, Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain

    Fernando Esperón

Authors
  1. Laura Reisfeld
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carlos Sacristán
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Paloma Canedo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bruna Schwarz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ana Carolina Ewbank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Fernando Esperón
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. José Luiz Catão-Dias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura Reisfeld.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

None.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Vishnu Chaturvedi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Reisfeld, L., Sacristán, C., Canedo, P. et al. Fusariosis in a Captive South American Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens): A Case Report. Mycopathologia 184, 187–192 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-018-0270-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-018-0270-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation