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Dosage of Sulfamerazine in the Treatment of Furunculosis in Brook Trout, Salvelinus Fontinalis
Author(s) -
Gutsell James S.,
Snieszko S. F.
Publication year - 1949
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1946)76[82:dositt]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - sulfamerazine , salvelinus , trout , fish <actinopterygii> , mortality rate , fontinalis , biology , medicine , gram , toxicology , veterinary medicine , zoology , fishery , antibiotics , surgery , sulfadiazine , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , bacteria
To determine the most effective dosage of sulfamerazine in the treatment of furunculosis in brook trout, two experiments were run. In the first experiment, yearlings were used and the daily dosage rates were 4, 8, and 12 grams of sulfamerazine per 100 pounds of fish. In the lots treated with sulfamerazine, mortality was brought under control within 15 days and was less than a quarter as high as in the controls. Results with the 4‐gram rate were nearly as good as with the higher rates. Treatment was continued for 10 days or more after mortality dropped to zero, and recurrences were few. A large number of the dead were checked bacteriologically for furunculosis. In the second experiment fingerlings in an early stage of a furunculosis epizootic were used and the daily dosage rates were 2, 4 and 6 grams per 100 pounds of fish. Losses in the controls were extremely heavy, with only 6‐percent survival. Losses were heavy in all lots, but in those treated at the 4‐gram and 6‐gram rates, survival was 10 times as high as in the controls. Mortality declined sooner with the 6‐gram than with the 4‐gram rate, and recurrence was almost eliminated by treatment, at the higher rate, for 10 days after mortality dropped to zero. Discontinuance of treatment as late as 4 days after the discontinuance of mortality was followed by resumption of mortality at a considerable rate. In the treated lots, late dead were small thin fish which evidently had received little food and drug. Dead fish were “spot‐checked” for furunculosis. The recommended daily dosage rate is 6 grams per 100 pounds of fish, to be continued for 10 days after mortality stops and for a total of at least 3 weeks. Other recommendations include: the early elimination of undersized fish; the prompt removal of dead and dying fish; the maintenance of clean troughs and pools; and strict observation of all sanitary measures practiced in the control of infectious diseases.