Isolation, characterization and study of pathogenicity of fish pathogenic bacteria.

Abstract

Intensified fish farming to meet the current demand for fish often resulted in fish disease outbreaks. Among these diseases bacterial diseases are a major threat, requiring early detection of the pathogens which may facilitate to undertake suitable control measures and treatment before it may spread and reach epidertiic status. In this study two pathogenic bacterial species were isolated from diseased fish. They were identified by using morphological and biochemical characters. Their virulence were evaluated by using pathogenicity models, namely the bath challenge and the injection challenge. Among these models, the injection challenge has been found as the most effective way of introducing pathogens into test fish. In the latter part of the study, efforts were made to identify a suitable primer which, can be used as a probe for the molecular detection of the pathogen.