| Antje Lauer; CSU Bakersfield; alauer@csub.edu; Jazmime Mejia Munoz, Shawn Hannah, Heather Liwanag, Gitte McDonald, Catherine Mulcahy, Tenaya Norris, Shawn Johnson, Lauren Palmer, Jazmine Mejia Munoz |
| Coccidioidomycosis is the number one fungal infection among stranded marine mammals in California. However, nothing is known about differences in prevalence of the disease in pinnipeds, how the disease affects rehabilitation of stranded animals, or if some age groups are more vulnerable than others. Arthroconidia from the soil-dwelling fungal pathogen Coccidioides spp. can become airborne when soil is disturbed in endemic areas and subsequently transported by the wind to non-endemic areas, including California's coast. We hypothesize that California sea lions and other pinnipeds rescued by Marine Mammal Care Centers (MMCs) closest to the Southern San Joaquin Valley and the Western Mojave Desert, known as a hot spot for coccidioidomycosis, will have a higher prevalence of the disease compared to animals rescued further north. We examined serum samples from animals with respiratory problems, which were rescued at several MMCs. By performing immunodiffusion assays, we detected cocci-specific IgM in 13% (n=9) of blood sera from predominantly adult and subadult California sea lions rescued at the facility in San Pedro, California between 2014 and 2015 (n=68), indicating acute coccidioidomycosis. To determine if exposure is different between rescue locations and age class, samples are currently being analyzed from additional marine mammal rehabilitation centers. |