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First evidence of fish nocardiosis in Mexico caused by Nocardia seriolae in farmed red drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus , Linnaeus)
Author(s) -
RioRodriguez Rodolfo Enrique,
RamirezParedes Jose Gustavo,
SotoRodriguez Sonia Araceli,
Shapira Yechiam,
HuchinCortes Mariana del Jesus,
RuizHernandez Judith,
GomezSolano Monica Isela,
Haydon David J.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of fish diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1365-2761
pISSN - 0140-7775
DOI - 10.1111/jfd.13373
Subject(s) - nocardiosis , biology , outbreak , histopathology , microbiology and biotechnology , nocardia , sciaenidae , pathology , pathogen , bacteria , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , virology , medicine , genetics
Between August and December 2013, the offshore cages of a commercial marine farm culturing red drum Sciaenops ocellatus in Campeche Bay Mexico were affected by an outbreak of an ulcerative granulomatous disease with up to 70% cumulative mortality. Thirty‐one adults displaying open ulcers on the skin were submitted for diagnosis. At necropsy, multiple white‐yellowish nodules (0.1–0.5 cm in diameter) were present in all internal organs, where the kidney and the spleen were the most severely affected. Histopathology evinced typical systemic granulomatous formations. Gram and Ziehl–Neelsen stains on tissue imprints, bacterial swabs and tissue sections revealed Gram‐positive, acid‐fast, branching beaded long rod filamentous bacteria. Tissue samples resulted positive for nocardiosis with a Nocardia genus‐specific nested PCR. Definite identification at the species level and taxonomic positioning of the fastidious pathogen were achieved through a specific Nocardia seriolae PCR and by sequencing the gyrB gene of pure isolates. After administration of antibiotics during fry production, a posterior follow‐up monitoring (from 2014 to 2017) detected mild but recurrent outbreaks of the bacteria with no seasonality pattern. To the extent of our knowledge, this is the first report of piscine nocardiosis in Mexico and the first time this disease is detected in red drum.