Isolation of Streptococcus agalactiae and an aquatic birnavirus from doctor fish Garra rufa L

Irish Veterinary Journal

Fiona Geoghegan¹  Cathy Hickey¹  David Swords¹  Michelle Geary¹  Evelyn M Collins¹  Neil M Ruane¹ 

[1] Fish Health Unit, Marine Institute, Rinville, Oranmore, Co. Galway, Ireland

关键词: Garra rufa;    Streptococcus agalactiae;    Aquabirnavirus;   

Others  :  805895
DOI  :  10.1186/2046-0481-66-16

 received in 2013-05-01, accepted in 2013-09-10,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

The doctor fish, Garra rufa, has become increasingly popular as a treatment for skin disorders and for pedicures in recent years. Despite this there is very little information available regarding the welfare of these fish and the range of potential pathogens they may carry. In this study, a group of fish suffering from post-transport mortalities were examined and the isolated pathogens identified.

Findings

Group B Streptococcus agalactiae was isolated from kidney swabs of the fish and found to be resistant to a number of antibiotics. In addition to this, a fish virus belonging to the aquabirnavirus group, serogroup C was isolated for the first time in Ireland. However, no clinical signs of disease typical of bacterial or viral infections were observed in any fish examined.

Conclusions

As no clinical signs of disease attributable to either of the pathogens identified were found it was concluded that the mortalities were most likely due to transport related stress exacerbated by the presence of the pathogens. Further work is required to assess the suitability of current transport strategies and to examine the potential risk associated with the transport of live ornamental fish.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Ruane et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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