Between 1999 and 2020, FAU Harbor Branch responded to 59 pygmy sperm whale strandings. In four cases, spirilliform bacteria often associated with visible gastric disease were found embedded in the animals’ stomach tissues. A team used histopathology, molecular diagnostics, and DNA sequencing to retrospectively analyze those tissues.
They identified three previously unknown genotypes of Helicobacter: Kogia Helicobacter 1, 2 and 3. “We saw signs of gastritis, gastric ulcers, fibrosis and nematode infestations. In one case, there was also colitis .... While Helicobacter wasn’t listed as the cause of death in any of the whales, these lesions raise questions about its role in gastrointestinal disease,” says researcher Annie Page.
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