Institute of Arctic Biology and Department of Biology and Wildlife, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 902 N, Koyukuk Dr,, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
Acta Vet Scand. 2013 Jan 16;55(1):2. doi: 10.1186/1751-0147-55-2.
Brucella is a group of bacteria that causes brucellosis, which can affect population health and reproductive success in many marine mammals. We investigated the serological prevalence of antibodies against Brucella bacteria in a declining harbor seal population in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.
Prevalence ranged from 16 to 74 percent for those tests detecting antibodies, indicating that harbor seals in Glacier Bay have been exposed to Brucella bacteria. However, the actual level of serological prevalence could not be determined because results were strongly assay-dependent.
This study reinforces the need to carefully consider assay choice when comparing different studies on the prevalence of anti-Brucella antibodies in pinnipeds and further highlights the need for species- or taxon-specific assay validation for both pathogen and host species.
布鲁氏菌是一组细菌，可引起布鲁氏菌病，该病可影响许多海洋哺乳动物的种群健康和繁殖成功率。我们调查了阿拉斯加冰川湾国家公园中数量下降的港湾海豹种群中针对布鲁氏菌的抗体的血清流行率。
针对抗体的检测，流行率范围为 16%至 74%，这表明冰川湾的港湾海豹曾接触过布鲁氏菌。但是，由于结果严重依赖于检测方法，因此无法确定实际的血清流行率。
本研究强调了在比较鳍足类动物抗布鲁氏菌抗体流行率的不同研究时，需要仔细考虑检测方法的选择，并进一步强调了针对病原体和宿主物种进行物种或分类群特异性检测方法验证的必要性。
