"The initial investigation by Dr. Ri Chang, the aquarium's veterinarian, found intense inflammation in her stomach and bits and pieces of sand crab in her feces. These symptoms, combined with her age, dehydration, emaciation and lethargy, resulted in an initial diagnosis of a common parasitic infection called acanthocephalan peritonitis, also known as AP. Chang kept their expectations realistic for the otter's recovery - AP has taken the lives of nearly a quarter of southern sea otters over the past three decades."
"The toll of infection AP is a disease caused by parasitic worms. A seabird or shorebird consumes the parasite, which matures and lays eggs inside of it. The birds expel those eggs in their fecal matter over the ocean. Mole crabs, when filter feeding, will ingest these eggs. A sea otter then eats that crab and becomes infected with AP."
"But the chances for this otter's survival were not shrouded in fear and uncertainty as they were for countless earlier otters. A July study by Stanford University's Dr. Richard Grewelle made big strides by confirming the seasonal and geographical disease trends. Grewelle and his team analyzed decades of data from otter deaths and found that southern sea otters are most often contracting the disease as pups in sandy habitats where Pacific mole crabs abound."
A six-month-old southern sea otter was rescued emaciated, dehydrated and lethargic with stomach inflammation and sand crab fragments in her feces, leading to a diagnosis of acanthocephalan peritonitis (AP). AP is caused when seabirds shed parasite eggs, mole crabs ingest those eggs, and otters eat infected crabs. The disease has killed nearly a quarter of southern sea otters over three decades. Recent research confirmed seasonal and geographic patterns, showing pups in sandy habitats with abundant Pacific mole crabs are most at risk. Improved knowledge has enabled more informed diagnosis and treatment efforts for affected otters.
Read at The Mercury News
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