Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid is superior to blow samples for the identification of fungi in the lower respiratory tract of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

Abstract

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) can be used to identify pathogens in the lower respiratory tract. To assess the utility of cetacean BALF in pathogen identification, we obtained 36 sets of fungal isolates from paired BALF and blow samples collected from six managed beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). In 13 sets, Candida tropicalis was isolated from BALF, whereas Candida spp. (n=2), Aspergillus-like filamentous fungi (n=3), and unidentified filamentous fungus (n=1) were isolated from the corresponding blow samples, with the remaining seven samples testing negative. Hence, BALF samples were established to be more reliable than blow samples for identifying fungal presence in the lower respiratory tract.