The bodies of four furry swimmers tested positive for a strain of toxoplasmosis first seen in mountain lions
Scientist Melissa Miller was seeing something insea otters that she had not seen before: an unusually severe form of toxoplasmosis, which officials have confirmed has killed at least four of the animals.
“This was a complete surprise,” Karen Shapiro, with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said in a. “The COUG [toxoplasma strain] genotype has never before been described in sea otters, nor anywhere in the California coastal environment or in any other aquatic mammal or bird.” The first case dates back to 2020, she said, and the others surfaced in 2022. The otters all appeared to have severe inflammation of the fat throughout their bodies, something Miller had not seen before. She observed high numbers of the parasites throughout their bodies, except for their brains. Typically, in fatal cases she would see more of the parasite in the brain.
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