Pj. Williams et al., USE OF ENROFLOXACIN TO CONTROL ATYPICAL AEROMONAS-SALMONICIDA IN ATLANTIC TOMCOD, Journal of aquatic animal health, 9(3), 1997, pp. 216-222
The antimicrobial enrofloxacin was tested for its ability to control a
typical Aeromonas salmonicida in Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod).
An initial experiment showed that a single injection of enrofloxacin,
at a dosage of approximately 5 mg active ingredient per kilogram of fi
sh, prevented the formation of characteristic furunculosis lesions but
did not significantly reduce mortality during a 76-d period. In a sec
ond experiment, in which we administered the antimicrobial at days 1,
10, and 45, treated fish experienced significantly lower mortality tha
n did the control fish. Three of 10 necropsied fish treated with enrof
loxacin produced positive cultures of atypical A. salmonicida, whereas
the pathogen was successfully cultured from 7 of 10 control fish. Cul
tures were obtained from skin lesions or from infected areas of buccal
or caudal regions. Sixteen of 50 (32%) fish from the enrofloxacin tre
atment died during the experiment, and 30% of the dead fish displayed
circular lesions on the trunk. In the control group, 48 of 50 fish (96
%) died during the experiment, and 78% of the dead fish had lesions on
the trunk. In both treatment and control groups, dead fish without le
sions on the trunk had either badly eroded tails or infected mouths. W
e feel that enrofloxacin holds promise for short-term control of atypi
cal A. salmonicida in nonsalmonids.