Vibrio damsela from wounds in bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncates

Abstract

Some of the bottlenose dolphins kept in coastal sea pens in Hawaii developed slowhealing wounds and were treated with trimethoprim/sulfadiazine. Vibrio bacteria recovered from healthy skin and wounds of dolphins as well as the sea pen water were identified using the 54 test system of West & Colwell. The popular 26 test API-20 E system was of limited value in identifying many vibrios recovered from environmental sources. Predominant vibrios recovered from sea pen water and from healthy dolphin skin were Vibrio alginolyticus and V. marinus, respectively. These vibrios remained sensitive to trimethoprim and sulfadiazine. The predominant vibrio recovered from dolphin wounds was V. damsela which developed resistance to the 2 antimicrobial agents used to treat the dolphins. This resistance was taken as additional evidence that V. damsela was multiplying at the wound site. V. damsela is a known pathogen of fish and humans and is believed to be the primary bacterium causing wound infections in dolphins.