Intramuscular sarcocystis spp. in southern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis peronii) in central coast of Chile

Sarcocystis spp. have been observed in a variety of wild and domestic terrestrial mammal’s host, and within different tissues, however, few have been documented in marine mammals. In muscle, they appear to have little or no... [ view full abstract ]

Sarcocystis spp. have been observed in a variety of wild and domestic terrestrial mammal’s host, and within different tissues, however, few have been documented in marine mammals. In muscle, they appear to have little or no effect on the host, whereas in nervous system, they can lead to severe encephalitis. This aim of this study was report for the first time the parasitism of southern right dolphin (Lissodelphis peronii) in Chile. An individual of L. peronii was found stranded in central coast of Chile after a sea storm in the area of Pelluhue (35°50′00″S - 72°38′00″O), Chile. The dolphin was no apparent signs of injury or illness. Complete necropsy was performed using standard protocol. Tissue samples were taken from most organs, including skeletal muscles. These samples were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and processed for routine histopathology with hematoxilin-eosin staining. Macroscopically no apparent injuries or disease medical condition that could have affected the dolphin. Histopathology findings shown mild skeletal muscle fiber degeneration and mild multifocal infiltrate of lymphocytes and plasma cells. Cardiac muscle also had mild diffuse degeneration changes. Sarcocystis spp. was found in muscles and was no associated with inflammation. Sarcocystis were round to oval and 60 µm in diameter and were located within myocytes. Bradyzoites were approximately 4 µm. This is the first report of Sarcocystis sp. in stranded L. peronii in central coast of Chile. Although sarcocystis were an incidental finding, there still to many unknown about the life cycle and prevalence in Chilean dolphins, but they are probably intermediate host for this parasite.