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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2002, p. 2040-2043, Vol. 68, No. 4
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.4.2040-2043.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification of Novel Helicobacter spp. from a Beluga Whale{dagger}

Claudia M. G. Harper,1 Shilu Xu,1 Yan Feng,1 J. Lawrence Dunn,2 Nancy S. Taylor,1 Floyd E. Dewhirst,3 and James G. Fox1*

Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139,1 Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, Connecticut 06355,2 Department of Molecular Genetics, Forsyth Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 021153

Received 24 August 2001/ Accepted 2 January 2002

The gastric fluid and feces of three belugas from the Mystic Aquarium were assessed for the presence of Helicobacter spp. Gastric fluid and feces from the two clinically healthy belugas were negative for helicobacter, and endoscopy performed on these animals revealed no lesions. However, a helicobacter isolate and PCR product similar to helicobacter strains previously recovered from dolphins were identified, respectively, from the feces and gastric fluid of a beluga manifesting intermittent inappetence and lethargy. Esophageal and forestomach ulcers were noted on endoscopy. This is the first report of novel Helicobacter spp. being identified from whales.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Bldg. 16, Rm. 825C, Cambridge, MA 02139. Phone: (617) 253-1757. Fax: (617) 258-5708. E-mail: jgfox{at}mit.edu.

{dagger} This work constitutes contribution no. 133 of the Sea Research Foundation.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2002, p. 2040-2043, Vol. 68, No. 4
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.4.2040-2043.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Harper, C. G., Feng, Y., Xu, S., Taylor, N. S., Kinsel, M., Dewhirst, F. E., Paster, B. J., Greenwell, M., Levine, G., Rogers, A., Fox, J. G. (2002). Helicobacter cetorum sp. nov., a Urease-Positive Helicobacter Species Isolated from Dolphins and Whales. J. Clin. Microbiol. 40: 4536-4543 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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