Trypanosomiasis causing mortality outbreak in Nile tilapia intensive farming: Identification and pathological evaluation

Abstract

Trypanosomes are flagellated parasite protozoans that prey especially on wild fish and have recently been described affecting fish in aquaculture. The present study was carried out during a mortality outbreak of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus reared in net cages. Samples of 10 fish in the finishing phase showing unspecific signs, such as anorexia, skin darkening and gill paleness, were analyzed using hemogram, parasitology, microbiology, histopathology, electron microscopy and molecular identification. For microbiological analysis, the kidney was collected aseptically and cultured on tryptone soy agar for 48 h at 30°C. For parasitological analysis, skin, gills, intestinal contents and blood scrapings were examined. Photomicrographs of the parasite were measured. For molecular identification, blood samples were processed and sequenced for amplification of the 18S rDNA gene. Gills, liver, spleen, kidney, heart and intestine were sampled for histopathological processing. The microbiological results indicated that the fish were not infected with bacteria. Scrapings of the skin and gills revealed the massive presence of kinetoplastids, which were also observed in greater numbers than erythrocytes in the blood. Intestines were not affected by endoparasites. The morphometric characteristics indicated the presence of the Trypanosoma genus, which was confirmed in the sequenced samples, where 95% and 98% of the identity were Trypanosoma sp. In histopathology, all organs presented different levels of alteration, accompanied by large numbers of the parasite in small and large vessels. The main findings were the description of mast cell infiltrates in the gill and intestine, as well as multifocal aggregates of melanomacrophages in the liver, pancreas, spleen and kidney. Furthermore, the study addresses the newest features of clinical signs of infected fish and possible causes of infestations and compares the diagnosis of this hemoparasite with other hemoflagellates. To our knowledge, this study represents the first outbreak of Trypanosoma in Nile tilapia in South America. The authors warn of possible new cases of trypanosomiasis in aquaculture, recommending possible forms of containment and biosecurity measures.

Levamisole modulates cortisol and innate immunity responses in tambaqui ( Colossoma macropomum ) parasitized with Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae

“…Parasitic diseases are a concern for the fish industry because they are responsible for lesions that predispose fish to secondary infections and can themselves cause outbreaks of mortality (de Jesus et al, 2018; Ogawa, 2014). Parasites are of increasing importance because fish are routinely subjected to stressful practices that may impair their defence against infections (Alvarez‐Pellitero, 2008).…”

Dietary Cinnamaldehyde Enhances Growth Performance, Digestion, Immunity, and Lipid Metabolism in Juvenile Fat Greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)

“…In the modern aquaculture industry, intensive aquaculture system has been widely promoted and applied in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), carp (Cyprinus carpio), tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), and other fishes, which can create greater economic value for farmers [1][2][3][4]. On the other hand, farming of fish under intensive culture system with high densities can trigger a great risk of stressful conditions, which would suppress the immune system and make fish more prone to the diseases resulting in extremely mortalities and significant economic losses [5].…”

Effect of trypanosomiasis on hematologic characteristics of bream (Abramis brama)

“…Trypanosoma are a large group of flagellate protozoa, which parasitize in the blood of many vertebrate and some invertebrate animals (Goodwin, 1985;Ranzani-Paiva et al, 1997;Haag et al, 1998;Fermino et al, 2015). In fish, Trypanosoma have been found both in marine and fresh water species, representatives of Cyprinidae (Grybchuk-Ieremenko et al, 2014), eels (Islam & Woo, 1991a;Zintl et al, 1997), gobies, esocids, Pleuronectidae (Woo, 2001), Gadidae (Khan, 1977), Schilbeidae and Clariidae (Ferreira & Avenant-Oldewage, 2013), Serranidae (Wang et al, 2015), Tilapia (de Jesus et al, 2018), Characidae (Rodrigues et al, 2018). Fish living in hot climates are the most affected.…”