Histopathological survey
of lesions and infections
affecting sick
ornamental fish in pet
shops in New South
Wales, Australia.
Wickins SC, et al. (2011).
Dis. Aquat. Organ., 94
(2):143-152.
Abstract
The objective of this
study was to describe the
frequency of the histopathological
lesions and categorize the evident infections
in sick ornamental fish from pet shops in New South
Wales, Australia. We examined 108 fish that had evidence
of morbidity or mortality, including 67 cyprinids,
25 osphronemids, 11 poeciliids, 4 characids and 1 cichlid,
sourced from 24 retail outlets.
Conditions frequently observed in the study population
included branchitis (62/86, 72.1%), visceral granulomas
(41/108, 38.0%), dermatitis (17/55, 30.9%),
wasting (31/108, 28.7%), and intestinal coccidiosis
(18/104, 17.4 %). Branchitis and dermatitis were usually
due to monogenean flukes, or flagellate or ciliate
protozoa. Intralesional Microsporidia (16/41, 39.0%),
Mycobacterium (7/41, 17.%), or Myxosporidia (5/41,
12.2%) were identified in the majority of fish with visceral
granulomas; however, special stains were critical
in their identification. The proportion of histologically
evident infections was remarkably high (77/108,
71.3%), and parasitic infections predominated.
Histopathological survey of lesions and infections affecting sick ornamental fish in pet shops in New South Wales, Australia.
