BACTERIAL

DISEASES

Presented by-
RICHA BORUAH(20-F-16)
WALTER RONGHANG(20-F-18)
PRAGYAN BHUYAN(20-F-19)
ANUBHAV SAHA(20-F-21)
PARTHA PRATIM PAL(2O-F-22)
1
INTRODUCTION
Epidemics of bacterial diseases are common in food or aquarium fish.
Outbreaks are associated with poor water quality, organic load of the aquatic environment,
variation temperature, hypoxia and stressors conditions.
Most bacterial pathogens of fish are aerobic gram-negative.
Diagnosis is by isolation of the bacteria in pure culture and identification of the bacterial
agent and subsequent sensitivity testing before use of antibiotic is recommended.
Common bacterial isolates from affected fish include Aeromonas spp. and Pseudomonas
spp., which are more common in freshwater animals, and Vibrio spp., which are more
commonly isolated from marine fish.

2
 COMMON SYMPTOMS IN
DISEASED
Lethargic swimming
FISHES
Loss of appetite
Increased breathing frequency
Discolouration of body
Don’t take food
Rub its body against dyke or any other hard object in water
Appearance of brown black or white spots on the body
Fins cut and eaten out
Gill colour changed
Thick mucus layer on body surface
3
 COMMON BACTERIAL
DISEASES IN FISHES
a) Furunculosis disease
b) Columnaris disease
c) Fin and tail rot disease
d) Vibriosis disease
e) Dropsy disease
f) Cotton mouth disease
g) Tuberculosis disease
h) Bacterial gill disease

4
HOW ARE BACTERIAL
DISEASES TREATED?
Bacterial diseases are treated with antibiotics.
Antibiotics work by killing the harmful bacteria or by stopping them from
reproducing and spreading.
Different types of antibiotics are effective for treating specific types of bacteria.
 Antibiotics may be given orally, intravenously, or by intramuscular injection,
depending on the type and severity of bacterial disease and other factors.

5
General types of antibiotics include:

Aminoglycosides
Cephalosporins
Macrolides
Penicillins
Quinolones
Tetracyclines ,etc.

6
Sometimes an antibiotic that used to work in treating a bacterial disease stops being
effective. This is called antibiotic resistance. This makes a bacterial disease more
difficult to treat and can result in serious complications.

7
 BACTERIAL DISEASES IN
FISHES
a. Furunculosis Disease:
Furuculosis disease is caused by Aeromona salmonicida in
salmon fishes.
It is a non-motile, gram-negative bacterium.
This disease frequently appears to infect fishes living in the
dirty waters containing a large amount of decaying matter.

8
SYMPTOMS:
The first symptoms of this disease are appearance of boil like lesions.
Others symptoms are blood-shot fins, blood discharge from the vent, haemorrhages in
muscles and other tissues and necrosis of the kidney.
Bursting of boils allow the spread of this disease among other fishes and also offer suitable
areas for fungus growth.

9
TREATMENT:

Remove the severely infected fishes from the pond and supply food containing
antibiotics like sulphonamides or nitrofurans.
Sulfonamides like sulfadiozine or sulfaguanidine are given orally with food at the rate of
22 g / 100 kg of fish / day.
Other antibiotics like chloromycetin and tetramycin are most effective at a dose of 5-7.5g
/ 100 kg of fish / day. Disinfect the eggs with 0.015% solution of methiolate or 0.185%
acriflavin.

10
b. Columnaris
Columnaris disease is caused by Chondroccus columnaris and Cytophaga columnaris in
many freshwater aquarium fish.
It is a long, thin, flexible, gram-negative slime bacterium (myxobacteriales).This disease is
often associated with low oxygen level.

Fig.-Gill lesions in Shubunkin caused by F.

columnare

11
SYMPTOMS
Initially it is marked by appearance of grayish-white or yellowish-white patches on
the body.
The skin lesions change to ulcerations and fins may become frayed.
Gill filaments are destroyed and eventually lead to the death of the fish.

Fig.-Skin ulceration and tail erosion in Minnow caused by F.

columnare
12
TREARTMENT:
Addition of 1 ppm copper sulphate in the pond to control this disease is effective.
Tetramycin administered orally with food at a rate of 3 g / 100 pounds of fish / day
for 10 days is very effective.
Dip treatment in malachite green (1:15000) for 10-30 seconds and one hour bath in
1 ppm furanase is very effective to control this disease.

13
c. Fin and Tail Rot Disease:
Fin and Tail Rot disease is caused by Aeromonas salmonicid and A. liquefaciens.
It is characterized by appearance of white lines along the margins of fins, the opacity usually
progresses towards the base eroding them and causing haemorrhage.
The fin rays become brittles first and later break leading to the complete destruction of the fins.
Fin and tail rot are associated with poor sanitary conditions in fish ponds and with water pollution
in nature.

14
The Fin and tail rot may be checked at an early stage by keeping fishes in 0.5%
copper sulphate solution for 2 minutes.
Control may be achieved with 10-50 ppm tetramycin and 1-2 ppm of benzalkonium
chloride.
In severe infections the affected parts are surgically removed and the fishes are then
kept in 0.04% potassium dichromate.

15
D. VIBRIOSIS DISEASE
Causative agent: Vibrio anguillarum
This disease may occur in waters with low oxygen.
These bacteria are small gram-negative bacilli, characteristically curved.
It enters the animal via food and attacks the gastro-intestinal tract.
This disease occurs more than readily at temperatures above 11℃.

16
Fig: Vibriosis disease in fish
17
 TREATMENT:
Sulfamethazine at a rate of 2 g / 100 pounds of fish / day gives good results. 3 – 4 g / 100
pounds of fish / day for 10 days of tetramycin also give satisfactory results.

18
E. DROPSY DISEASE
Causative agent: Pseudomonas punctate
Symptoms:
It is characterized by accumulation of yellow coloured fluid inside the body cavity,
protruding scales and pronounced exopthalmic conditions. This is known as
“Intestinal Dropsy”.
In case of ulcerative dropsy, ulcers appear on the skin, deformation of back bone
takes place and show abnormal jumping. This is a fatal disease in culture systems.

19
20
TREATMENT:
This is a fatal disease in culture systems.
Removal and destruction of fishes, followed by draining, drying and disinfecting the pond
with lime are preventive measures to control the disease.
The infected fishes may be cured with 5 ppm potassium permanganate for 2 minutes dip
bath. Streptomycin and oxytetracyclin give good results.

21
COTTON MOUTH DISEASE
Causative Agent: Flavobacterium columnare
Symptoms
Apeparence of raised patch on the fish’s skin. It can be anywhere on the body including
the face, mouth and fins.
The spreading of illness and patches can cause the fish to lose its equilibrium.
Loss of appetite.

22
23
TREATMENT
External treatment should be treated with antibiotics, chemical in the water or both
of these methods.
Copper Sulphate, Acriflavin, Furan and terramycin may all be used in water to treate
columnaris.
Terramycin is proved to be most effective both in bath and when treated by feed for
internal infectionSalt is also added to water (1 to 3 tbs per gallon) to reduce osmotic
stress on fish from damaging the fish’s epithelium caused by bacteria.

24
TUBERCULOSIS DISEASE
Causative agent :- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Symptoms of Fish Tuberculosis-

Unfortunately, the clinical signs of a mycobacteria infection are very vague.

It is most commonly associated with wasting, loss of body condition, lethargy and
anorexia. Other signs include scale loss, skin ulcers, a dropsy-like appearance,
reproductive problems and a host of secondary infections.

25
26
TREATMENT
There is no FDA approved treatment for mycobacteriosis in cultured food fish, nor
any other unapproved products available.

The saddest part of this infection is that no treatments are available for fish
tuberculosis. Fish can persist with this bacteria in low stress environments with good
water quality, but will eventually succumb to the disease. It is recommended the
entire system be decontaminated with a carefully selected disinfectant that will
penetrate the mycobacteria. Not all disinfectants will work with mycobacteria.
Prevention is key through proper quarantine and possibly sacrificing some
individuals for histopathology screening.

27
BACTERIAL GILL
DISEASE
28
CAUSATIVE AGENT AND
DISEASE
Bacterial gill disease (BGD) is most commonly caused by filamentous
bacteria within the genus Flavobacterium (most often F. Brachyphyllum).

The syndrome of this disease includes swollen gill lamellae caused by

proliferation of the epithelial cells sometimes resulting in lamellar fusion.

The epithelial proliferation is a response to irritation from the large numbers

of filamentous bacteria found attached to the gill surface. The thickened
epithelial layer results in decreased gas exchange for respiration triggering
explosive epizootics with high fish mortality of up to 25%.

29
 


Histological section of gill lamellar fusion (arrow) caused by Higher magnification showing filamentous bacteria (arrow) on
external bacteria gill

30
HOST SPECIES
All cultured salmonids are susceptible and the disease is found
worldwide.

Adults and yearlings are less susceptible than fry and fingerlings.

31
CLINICAL SIGNS
Fish with BGD show a loss of appetite, orient to the water
current for increased flow over the gills and exhibit exaggerated
opercular movements.

An increase in mucus on the head and upper body may also be
noted.

32
PROGNOSIS FOR HOST
Early intervention in the progression of the disease may reduce fish mortality which
can be significant. In a hatchery setting external chemical treatments with hydrogen
peroxide may help control the bacteria.

If gill tissue is severely damaged, fish may not survive the treatments.

Preventative measures for BGD include maintaining the water supply free of fish
(especially adults), mud and silt, reducing stress such as overcrowding, avoiding low
dissolved oxygen or high ammonia levels and avoiding excessive fish handling.

33
34