Disseminated histoplasmosis in an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

An approximately 37-yr-old female Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops tru ncatus) died after a 4-mo illness characterized by intermittent anorexia, l ethargy, mild neutrophilic leukocytosis, and mild nonregenerative anemia. A t necropsy, the lungs were diffusely consolidated, and histopathology of th e lungs revealed severe pneumonia with macrophages containing clusters of n umerous yeast cells. Inflammatory lesions and yeast also were found in pulm onary, mediastinal, prescapular, and duodenal lymph nodes, spleen, liver, k idneys, urinary bladder pancreas, right adrenal gland, and the pyloric stom ach. Histomorphology, Fungal culture, and polymerase chain reaction analysi s indicated that the fungus was Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum. Thi s is the first report of histoplasmosis in a cetacean.