Mortality in farmed European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in Italy due to Streptococcus iniae

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

Case Report

Alberto Perolo¹  Giovanni Loris Alborali²  Teresa Pirollo²  Simone Mantegari²  Federico Scali²  Ilaria Barbieri²  Cristian Salogni² 

[1]A. I. A. - Agricola Italiana Alimentare S.p.A, Via Valpantena 18/G, 37142, Verona, Italy

[2]Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia ed Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, Via Antonio Bianchi 7/9, 25124, Brescia, Italy

关键词: Bacterial septicaemia;    European eel disease;    Fish streptococcosis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13028-023-00669-y

 received in 2022-08-09, accepted in 2023-02-01,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundStreptococcal infections are one of the main causes of fish disease. During the last decade, Streptococcus iniae has become one of the most important aquatic pathogens worldwide, causing high losses in marine and freshwater finfish. Clinical signs in farmed fish include loss of appetite, lethargy and grouping at the bottom of the tank. Gross changes comprise darkening of the skin and haemorrhage at the basis of fins and opercula. To date, S. iniae has been isolated from several wild and farmed fish species but never in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). In Europe, eel production from aquaculture is around 4500 tonnes and Italy is the third largest producer. This communication represents the first report of an outbreak of S. iniae infection in European eels.Case presentationThe outbreak occurred at an eel farm in northern Italy between May 2021 and September 2021. The outbreak caused about 2% mortality per month, resulting in the loss of about 10% of the farmed fish. The diseased eels showed apathy, lethargy, inactivity and inappetence. In July 2021, three eels were necropsied. Necropsy revealed skin and branchial hyperaemia, a few skin ulcers, and diffuse peritoneal congestion with a few haemorrhagic-like spot lesions. Swab samples for bacteriology were taken from the kidneys, liver, spleen, and brain. Additionally, four eels were opened and swap samples as above were taken. All the investigated eels were found dead. Bacteriological examination revealed growth of Streptococcus spp. from all samples. Identification of S. iniae was done by biochemical characterization, the API20STREP microsystem, 16S rDNA sequencing, and MALDI-TOF. Antimicrobial therapy (oxytetracycline and erythromycin) was ineffective.ConclusionsThis is the first report of S. iniae infection in the European eel. Although this may be an isolated outbreak, it is of concern due to the losses associated with this pathogen in fish worldwide and because the European eel is an endangered species. Due to the difficulties of controlling the disease with antimicrobials, it is advisable to plan other effective control measures, such as improving water quality and the environmental conditions, reducing fish density, improving biosecurity, and by using immunostimulants and, when possible, vaccines.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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Fig. 1