Edwardsiella ictaluriinfection in Pangasius catfish imported from West Bengal into the Southern Caribbean

Abstract

In response to a mortality event, seven Pangasius catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) were submitted to the University of the West Indies, School of Veterinary Medicine, Trinidad and Tobago, for diagnostic evaluation. These fish were part of a consignment that arrived from Kolkata two weeks earlier. Fish presented with perianal haemorrhage and blister-like swellings on the skin which ruptured to leave ulcers. Edwardsiella ictaluri was consistently recovered from the brain and skin. Repetitive sequence-mediated PCR analysis revealed genetic fingerprints consistent with E. ictaluri isolates from farm-raised channel catfish in Mississippi, USA. Plasmid analysis of the case isolates identified two unique plasmids that differ slightly in conformation and content from the pEI1 and pEI2 plasmids described for E. ictaluri from other fish hosts. The case isolates were also PCR negative for several E. ictaluri virulence factors. The biological implications of these genetic differences are unclear and warrant further study. This is the first report and documentation of E. ictaluri infection in Trinidad and Tobago, suggesting the pathogen may have been introduced concurrently with the importation of fish. This report emphasizes the importance of adequate health screenings of imported lots to minimize the threat of introducing E. ictaluri to non-endemic areas.

An orally delivered, live‐attenuated Edwardsiella ictaluri vaccine efficiently protects channel catfish fingerlings against multiple Edwardsiella ictaluri field isolates

“…Generally, E. ictaluri from U.S. catfish aquaculture is considered genetically and antigenically homogeneous (Bertolini et al, 1990; Griffin et al, 2011; Lobb et al, 1993; Panangala et al, 2005, 2006; Plumb & Klesius, 1988), making it an excellent candidate for disease control through vaccination. Although catfish are considered the primary host for E. ictaluri , reports of this pathogen causing disease in other cultured fish species outside the United States demonstrates an increasingly widespread pathogen distribution (Bartie et al, 2012; Dong et al, 2019; Griffin et al, 2016; Hawke et al, 2013; Liu, Li, Zhou, Wen, & Ye, 2010; Phillips, Reichley, Ware, & Griffin, 2017; Rogge et al, 2013; Sakai et al, 2008; Soto et al, 2012; Suanyuk et al, 2013; Ye, Li, Qiao, & Li, 2009). Despite the relative homogeneity of E. ictaluri reported here and elsewhere, there is evidence that immunization with some E. ictaluri variants does not confer protection against all heterologous isolates (Klesius & Shoemaker, 1997).…”

The phenotypic, genotypic and pathogenicity comparison ofEdwardsiella ictaluriIndonesian local isolates causing enteric septicemia of catfish

“…According to Phillips et al (2016), the specific PCR E . ictaluri was detected using primer ESCF2 and ESCR2 (Table 2) with target amplification of 129 bp.…”

“…The same fragment was also identified from the two E.ictaluri samples from Pangasius sp. (Phillips et al, 2016).…”

“…hypophthalmus denoted the consistent genotype with the E . ictaluri isolate of Channel catfish from Mississippi, the USA (Phillips et al, 2016). Rogge et al (2013) compared the E .…”

Application of multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction methods to detect common bacterial fish pathogens in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, hatcheries in Costa Rica

“…Edwardsiella ictaluri , the etiological agent of enteric septicemia of catfish, is one of the most economically important diseases of cultured channel catfish in the southeastern United States (Hawke & Khoo, ; Hawke, McWhorter, Steigerwalt, & Brenner, ). Although historically considered a problem limited to catfish aquaculture in the United States, E. ictaluri strains have been recovered from disease outbreaks in other economically important fish species across the world (Crumlish, Dung, Turnbull, Ngoc, & Ferguson, ; Geng et al, ; Hawke et al, ; Hawke & Khoo, ; Phillips, Reichley, Ware, & Griffin, ; Ye, Li, Qiao, & Li, ) including Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus , cultured in Costa Rica (Soto et al, ).…”