Colleagues,
We would like to inform you that the following article was recently
published in /Diseases of Aquatic Organisms/.
*Modeling lacaziosis lesion progression in common bottlenose dolphins
/Tursiops truncatus/ using long-term photographic records*
Leslie Burdett Hart, Randall S. Wells, Jeffrey D. Adams, Dave S.
Rotstein, Lori H. Schwacke^
ABSTRACT: Lacaziosis (lobomycosis) is a skin disease caused by /Lacazia
loboi/, occurring naturally only in humans and dolphins. Attempts to
culture the pathogen /in vitro/ have been unsuccessful, and inoculation
studies of lacaziosis development in mice have provided only limited,
short-term data on the progression and propagation of /L. loboi/. The
present study used photographic data from long-term photo-identification
and health assessment projects to model and quantify the progression of
lacaziosis lesions in 3 common bottlenose dolphins /Tursiops truncatus/
from Sarasota Bay, Florida, USA. Dorsal fin images throughout each
animal's sighting history were examined for lesion growth, and the
proportion of lesion coverage in each photograph was estimated using
image analysis tools in Adobe Photoshop®. The progression of lacaziosis
lesions and lesion growth rates were modeled using a non-linear
monomolecular growth model. As data on lacaziosis development and
advancement are limited in humans and laboratory animals, dolphins with
a long-term case history of the disease may serve as a good animal model
to better understand lacaziosis progression. Furthermore, this study
demonstrates the utility of long-term population monitoring data for
tracking the progression of a poorly understood disease that is relevant
to both dolphin and human health.
/Diseases of Aquatic Organisms/, Volume 90, Issue 2, Pgs. 105-112
Abstract link: http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/dao/v90/n2/p105-112/
Please make requests to: [email protected]
--
Leslie Burdett Hart
PhD Candidate
The Medical University of South Carolina
Hollings Marine Laboratory
331 Ft. Johnson Rd.
Charleston, SC 29412
Work: 843-725-4831
Fax: 843-762-8737
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