Cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea. Encounter rate, dominant species, and diversity hotspots

We investigated the presence and diversity of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, analysing the data collected by 32 different research units, over a period of 15 years (2004–2018), and shared on the common web-GIS platform named Intercet. We used the encounter rate, the species prevalence, and the Shannon diversity index as parameters for data analysis. The results show that cetacean diversity, in the context of the Mediterranean basin, is generally quite low when compared with the eastern Atlantic, as few species, namely the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the fin whale, and the sperm whale, dominate over all the others. However, some areas, such as the Alboran Sea or the north-western Mediterranean Sea, which includes the Pelagos Sanctuary (the Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest located in the northern portion of the western basin), show higher levels of diversity and should be considered hotspots to be preserved. Primary production and seabed profile seem to be the two main drivers influencing the presence and distribution of cetaceans, with the highest levels of diversity observed in areas characterized by high levels of primary production and high bathymetric variability and gradient. This collective work underlines the importance of data sharing to deepen our knowledge on marine fauna at the scale of the whole Mediterranean Sea and encourages greater efforts in the networking process, also to accomplish the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with particular reference to Descriptor 1: biological diversity is maintained

Intérêt de la détection de la synthèse intrathécale d'anticoprs anti-HSV dans le diagnostic des encéphalites herpétiques

Congrès de la Société de Pathologie Infectieuse de Langue Française et du Collège des Universitaires de Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales; ERMANational audienc

Intrathecal synthesis of specific antibodies as a marker of herpes simplex encephalitis in patients with negative PCR

BACKGROUND: PCR in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has become the sole method used for the diagnosis of herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE). Nevertheless, PCR results may sometimes be false negative, and in this situation other techniques may be useful. METHODS: 3 patients hospitalised for meningoencephalitis with fever showed a negative result for herpes simplex virus (HSV) PCR in their CSF. We then performed a detection of intrathecal anti-HSV immunoglobulins (IgGs) in the CSF and analysed their level in relation to those in the serum, compared to albumin. RESULTS: We confirmed that IgG synthesis was the direct consequence of an immune system reaction in the 3 patients’ CSF. These results were consistent with clinical signs and neurodiagnostic procedures. They prompted us to continue the treatment, which would have been stopped following the negative PCR results. The clinical progression was favourable for all patients. CONCLUSIONS: PCR, which many physicians now consider the gold standard for the detection of HSV, may sometimes yield false negative results, i.e. when performed too early after the disease onset or when the viral load is too low. The method described here, although positive a few days after PCR, may prove helpful in the diagnosis of HSE for patients with negative HSV PCR in the CSF