Marine Mammals and Respiration: Evidence of Poor Pulmonary Health in Bottlenose Dolphins Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

ABSTRACT The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster resulted in large-scale contamination of bays, sounds, and estuaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM), home to multiple stocks of bottlenose dolphins. Inhalation, direct aspiration, ingestion with subsequent aspiration, and dermal absorption of oil and its toxic components were all considered possible routes of exposure for dolphins living within the oil spill footprint. To determine if dolphins were adversely impacted, capture-release health assessments were performed in heavily-oiled Barataria Bay (BB), Louisiana, and in Sarasota Bay (SB), Florida, a comparison site with no DWH oil contamination. Initial studies were conducted as part of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (2011–2014), with follow-on studies supported by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (2016–2018). To specifically evaluate pulmonary health, transthoracic ultrasound techniques previously developed for managed dolphins were applied to wild dolphins. Results showed that BB dolphins were ~5 times more likely to have moderate to severe lung disease than SB dolphins in 2011, the year following the spill. Concurrent pathology investigations of dead dolphins in the northern GoM reported similar pulmonary findings. In 2013 and 2014, moderate to severe lung disease persisted among BB dolphins, and remained elevated relative to the prevalence at the SB comparison site. More recent live animal health assessments (2016–2018) showed long-term persistence and potential worsening of moderate to severe lung disease in BB dolphins, specifically in animals alive during the oil spill (prevalence of 0.20, 0.35, and 0.55 in 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively). Long-term monitoring of dolphin populations is critical to fully understand the potential for and timeline of individual and population recovery from the impacts of a large-scale oil spill event, as well as the cost-benefit trade-offs for restoration activities. In particular, BB dolphins provide valuable insight into the long-lasting effects of oil and oil-related contaminants on animal, human, and ecosystem health.

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Childbirth in a woman with antisynthetase syndrome and severe lung disease on long-term rituximab therapy

Indian Journal of Rheumatology ◽

10.1016/j.injr.2016.03.001 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Joan Dalmau-Carolà

Keyword(s):

Lung Disease ◽

Antisynthetase Syndrome ◽

Severe Lung Disease ◽

Severe Lung

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Evaluation of Triploid Oysters as a Tool to assess Short- and Long-term Seafood Contamination of Oil Spill-impacted Areas

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-2014.1.1958 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 (1) ◽

pp. 1958-1971

Author(s):

M. Scott Miles ◽

Ronald F. Malone ◽

John E. Supan

Keyword(s):

Crassostrea Virginica ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Large Scale ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Ecological Impacts ◽

Short Term ◽

Chemical Spills ◽

Short And Long Term ◽

South Louisiana

ABSTRACT The objective of this field and laboratory study was to evaluate the use of triploid Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, as a bioindicator of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in oil spill-impacted areas. Bivalve mollusks have shown to be valuable tools for assessing the short-term (weeks to months) bioavailability and impact of hydrophobic contaminants following oil and chemical spills. Approximately 1-year after the initial Deepwater Horizon spill, PAH concentrations were measured in sediment and caged oysters at sites within the Northern Barataria Bay. Two (2) seven-week large-scale mesocosm studies were conducted with diploid and triploid oysters to assess the effects of multiple whole South Louisiana crude (SLC) oil concentrations and seasonal water temperature variation on the PAH bioaccumulation and depuration rates within the test populations. Tissue analyses from the mesocosm study showed that PAH concentrations were generally higher and less variable in triploids than diploids. The studies showed that triploid Crassostrea virginica can be an appropriate organism to serve as a bioindicator of PAH contamination as they are abundant, stationary filter-feeders that provide ample tissue for analysis, and accumulate PAHs in response to contamination. Although diploid oysters are more representative of ecological impacts, triploid oysters are the only ploidy to have the capability to accurately assess oil and chemical spill impacts during oyster breeding season.

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180 Long term aztreonam solution for inhalation in adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with severe lung disease

Journal of Cystic Fibrosis ◽

10.1016/s1569-1993(17)30544-1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. S113

Author(s):

B. Messore ◽

C. Bena ◽

C. Biglia ◽

S. Demichelis ◽

C. Ferrero ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cystic Fibrosis ◽

Lung Disease ◽

Severe Lung Disease ◽

Severe Lung

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Reproductive outcome and survival of common bottlenose dolphins sampled in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2015.1944 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 282 (1818) ◽

pp. 20151944 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Suzanne M. Lane ◽

Cynthia R. Smith ◽

Jason Mitchell ◽

Brian C. Balmer ◽

Kevin P. Barry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lung Disease ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Bottlenose Dolphins ◽

Survival Rates ◽

Reference Population ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Due Dates ◽

Apex Predators ◽

Barataria Bay

Common bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) inhabit bays, sounds and estuaries across the Gulf of Mexico. Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, studies were initiated to assess potential effects on these ecologically important apex predators. A previous study reported disease conditions, including lung disease and impaired stress response, for 32 dolphins that were temporarily captured and given health assessments in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA. Ten of the sampled dolphins were determined to be pregnant, with expected due dates the following spring or summer. Here, we report findings after 47 months of follow-up monitoring of those sampled dolphins. Only 20% (95% CI: 2.50–55.6%) of the pregnant dolphins produced viable calves, as compared with a previously reported pregnancy success rate of 83% in a reference population. Fifty-seven per cent of pregnant females that did not successfully produce a calf had been previously diagnosed with moderate–severe lung disease. In addition, the estimated annual survival rate of the sampled cohort was low (86.8%, 95% CI: 80.0–92.7%) as compared with survival rates of 95.1% and 96.2% from two other previously studied bottlenose dolphin populations. Our findings confirm low reproductive success and high mortality in dolphins from a heavily oiled estuary when compared with other populations. Follow-up studies are needed to better understand the potential recovery of dolphins in Barataria Bay and, by extension, other Gulf coastal regions impacted by the spill.

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A Case Report of Pulmonary Exacerbation after Initiation of Lumacaftor/Ivacaftor Therapy in a CF Female with Complicated Lung Disease

Case Reports in Pulmonology ◽

10.1155/2018/8394370 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-3 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elpis Hatziagorou ◽

Eleana Kouroukli ◽

Vasiliki Georgopoulou ◽

John Tsanakas

Keyword(s):

Cystic Fibrosis ◽

Case Report ◽

Lung Disease ◽

Initial Phase ◽

Pulmonary Exacerbation ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Targeted Treatments ◽

Severe Lung Disease ◽

Severe Lung

Novel targeted treatments for Cystic Fibrosis give rise to new hope for an ever-growing number of CF patients with various mutations. However, very little evidence and guidelines exist to steer clinical decisions regarding patients whose illness takes an unexpected course. In such cases, the benefits and risks of discontinuing these treatments must be carefully and individually weighed, since their long-term effects remain mainly uncharted territory. In this report we document the case of a homozygous F508del CF patient with severe lung disease who presented with a pulmonary exacerbation shortly after the beginning of treatment with lumacaftor/ivacaftor and the complicated initial phase of therapy, which was followed by significant improvements.

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