ULCERATIVE MYCOSIS, FISH - USA: (FLORIDA)
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International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Date: Mon 15 Nov 2010
Source: Clay Today [edited]
<http://www.claytoday.biz/content/2827_1.php>
Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute have determined the cause of a recent fish kill in the St. Johns River.
Testing confirmed that a fungus led to the fish die-off that occurred in the river in mid-October [2010].
The FWC received reports of dead fish and fish with ulcers beginning [20 Oct 2010]. Reports came from an area of the river just south of Interstate 95 near Jacksonville and as far south as Green Cove Springs. The FWC responded by analyzing dead fish and water samples from the area.
FWC biologists suspected that a fungus called _Aphanomyces invadans_ caused an infection, which produced ulcer-like lesions and the eventual death of shad, mullet, and menhaden in the St. Johns River.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the FWC's findings when it conducted specialized testing on diseased-fish samples provided by the FWC.
This fungus, which is a type of water mold, occurs naturally in estuaries and freshwater systems in Florida -- generally in water bodies with lower salinity levels. Scientists have confirmed that it causes an ulcer-forming disease in estuarine and freshwater fish worldwide. This is not the 1st time that fish with these types of ulcers have been observed in the St. Johns River. Reports of similar incidents date back to the late 1970s. However, biologists have no evidence that there is a connection between this fish kill and the large-scale fish kill that occurred in the river earlier this summer [2010].
FWC scientists track the location and extent of fish kills in natural water bodies. This enables them to monitor the development of serious problems in an ecosystem that might require investigation or restoration measures.
As a reminder, according to the Florida Department of Health, harvesting distressed or dead animals for consumption is not advised under any circumstances. More information is available at <http://myfwc.com/Safety/>. Residents can report fish kills in natural water bodies to the FWC through <http://myfwc.com/Contact/>, or call the FWC Fish Kill Hotline at 800-636-0511.
For more information on fish kills, visit <http://research.MyFWC.com> and select "Fish and Wildlife Health" in the "Explore" section.
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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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[The pathogenic oomycete _Aphanomyces invadans_ is the primary etiological agent in ulcerative mycosis, an ulcerative skin disease caused by a fungus-like agent of wild and cultured fish. _A.
invadans_ is the primary oomycete pathogen in ulcerative mycosis.
_A. invadans_ is the main etiological component of a serious disease of Asian freshwater and estuarine fish stocks known as epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS). It was described by Willoughby et al
(1995) under the name _Aphanomyces invaderis_, but is now listed in the Index of Fungi (1997) as _A. invadans_. Recent work has shown that this fungus appears to be pathogenically and culturally identical to similar _Aphanomyces_ isolates from fish suffering from red spot disease (RSD) in Australia and mycotic granulomatosis (MG) in Japan (Lilley & Roberts 1997). Strains from the latter disease, however, have been generally referred to as _Aphanomyces piscicida_ (Hatai 1980).
Portions of this comment were extracted from <http://www.int-res.com/articles/dao/30/d030p187.pdf> and from <http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/short/72/2/1551> - Mod.TG]
[The state of Florida can be seen on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of the US at <http://healthmap.org/r/0gBw>.
The St. Johns River and the affected area in northern Florida can be seen on the map at <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Stjohnsriver_detailmap.png/412px-Stjohnsriver_detailmap.png>.
- Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]
[see also:
2009
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Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Southern Africa: (Zambezi River)
20090722.2593
2008
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Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Australia (NSW) 20080320.1074
2007
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Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Zambia (Zambezi River) 20070916.3077 Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Southern Africa (Zambezi River)
20070718.2301
Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Zambia (Zambezi River): susp., RFI
20070729.2437
Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Southern Africa (Zambezi River)
20070718.2301
1998
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Epizootic ulcerative syndrome, carp - Pakistan (02) 19980120.0159]
...................................tg/mj/lm/ll
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