Photobacterium damselae subspecies damselae, an abundant, generalist marine pathogen, has been reported in various cetaceans worldwide. We report a bottlenose dolphin in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that was found stranded and dead. The dolphin had a severe case of chronic suppurative pneumonia and splenic lymphoid depletion caused by this pathogen.
Keywords: Israel; Photobacterium damselae; Photobacterium damselae subspecies damselae; Tursiops truncatus; bacteria; bottlenose dolphin; eastern Mediterranean Sea; marine mammals; pneumonia; stranded; zoonoses.