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Volume 14, Number 9—September 2008
Dispatch

Neurobrucellosis in Stranded Dolphins, Costa Rica

Gabriela Hernández-Mora, Rocío González-Barrientos, Juan-Alberto Morales, Esteban Chaves-Olarte, Caterina Guzmán-Verri, Elías Baquero-Calvo, María-Jesús De-Miguel, Clara-María Marín, José-María Blasco, and Edgardo MorenoComments to Author 
Author affiliations: Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica (G. Hernández-Mora, R. González-Barrientos, J.-A. Morales, E. Chaves-Olarte, C. Guzmán-Verri, E. Baquero-Calvo, E. Moreno); Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica (E. Chaves-Olarte); Sanidad Animal, Gobiemo de Aragón, Aragón, Spain (M.-J. De-Miguel, C.-M. Marín, J.-M. Blasco);

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Table

Characterization of Brucella spp. isolated from Stenella coeruleoalba and comparison with marine reference strains

Species, strain§ CO2 Serum against†
 Growth on dyes, μg/mL‡
 Omp2b restriction
pattern
RTD phage lysis*
 Thionin
 Basic fuchsin
 O safranin
Tb Wb Iz R/C A M 10 20 40 100 20 100
B. ceti, B14/94# – + + – – + + +
(+) +
(±) +
(–) + 
(+) + 
(–) +
(+) Dolphin type I
B. ceti, B1/94# – + – – – + – +
(+) +
(+) +
(+) + 
(–) + 
(–) +
(–) Porpoise type II
B. pinnipedialis, B2/94# – – + – + + – +
(–) +
(–) +
(–) + 
(–) + 
(–) +
(–) Seal
B. ceti, B1 to B6** – + + – – + + +
(+) +
(–) –
(–) + 
(–) + 
(–) +
(–) Dolphin
type I

*RTD, routine test dilution of phages Tbilisi (Tb), Weybridge (Wb), Izatnagar (Iz), and rough type Wb derivative (R/C).
†Serum against lipopolysaccharide epitopes, measured as agglutination with monospecific serum.
‡Dye concentrations expressed in µg/mL of culture medium with 10% CO2 or, within parenthesis, raw incubation without CO2.
§All reference and isolated strains were SH2 negative, urease positive and amplified Brucella spp L12 rRNA by PCR.
¶Requirement.
#Reference strains (11,12).
**Isolates from Costa Rica.

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