Brucella sp. sequence-type 27 associated with abortion in dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima

Abstract A dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima stranded alive along the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The whale, handled by tourists and local inhabitants, was weak, had buoyancy difficulties, eventually aborted died, showing severe necrotizing placentitis other pathological signs. Both mother fetus antibodies against Brucella lipopolysaccharide. organisms were isolated from various tissues both animals characterized. bacterium genome corresponded to sequence-type 27 (ST27) clustered together with ST27 in humans cetaceans.