Infectious Necrotizing Enteritis In
Cultured Juvenile Summer Flounder
Marta
Gómez-Chiarri1, Eric Gauger1, Bruno Soffientino2, Todd Gwaltney3, David R.Nelson3, Jennifer L. Specker2, Michael Mauel4 1Department of
Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science; 2Graduate
School of Oceanography; 3Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology,
and Molecular Genetics and 4Laboratory of Vector Borne
Diseases, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA. An epizootic causing mortality among
cultured summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus occurred in summer of 1998 at a
land-based facility on Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The disease, which we have named flounder infectious necrotizing
enteritis (FINE), was characterized by reddening around the anal area,
distended abdomens filled with opaque serosanguineous fluid, enteritis and
necrosis of the posterior intestine. In
severe cases of the disease, the posterior intestine was detached from the anus
and was observed coming out the anus. The intestine of individuals that recovered from the disease ended
in a blind-sac. A bacterium was
isolated from ascites fluid and kidney of moribund flounder and identified as
the causative agent in challenge experiments.
The pathogen was identified as Vibrio carchariae by morphological and
biochemical characteristics and sequence of the 16S rRNA. The LD50 estimate was 5 x 105 colony-forming
units injected intraperitoneally into 100-200 g summer flounder kept at
temperatures above 21C.
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