Open AccessPrevention of Microsporidosis in the Blue Crab, with Notes on Natural Infections 1
Author(s) -
Overstreet Robin M.,
Whatley Edward C.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
proceedings of the annual meeting ‐ world mariculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0164-0399
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-7345.1975.tb00029.x
Subject(s) - callinectes , spore , disinfectant , fishery , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , shellfish , veterinary medicine , toxicology , fish <actinopterygii> , medicine , aquatic animal , pathology , crustacean
Application with single doses of various drugs, especially buquinolate, given at the same time that the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, was fed infective spores of the microsporidan Nosema michaelis, resulted in fewer crabs becoming infected than control crabs given no drugs. The disease consists of infection with the protozoan in the crab's striated muscle tissue and lysis of the tissue adjacent to infected areas. The results for the preventive treatment with drugs are mostly preliminary, since the majority of the experiments, some run in triplicate, were not repeated. The results are presented because buquinolate is effective; because we discourage testing with certain drugs using the methods described; because certain drugs appear to have deleterious effects on the crab in the doses administered; and because we want to encourage rearing of the blue crab for the soft‐shell industry. In order to prevent or treat microsporidan contamination in closed‐systems, we recommend disinfecting the system with commercial bleach or a disinfectant containing iodine. The freezing of spores was shown to be an ineffective method of destroying them.