ISOLATION OF VIBRIO-HARVEYI FROM DISEASED KURUMA PRAWNS PENAEUS-JAPONICUS

Outbreaks of high mortality among the cultured kuruma prawn Penaeus ja ponicus without overt gross signs occurred during August and December of 1994 in I-Lan, Taiwan, Eleven luminous bacterial strains were isola ted from the hepatopancreas of moribund prawns from five different far ms by use of tryptic soy agar (TSA, supplemented with 2% NaCl) and/or thiosulfate citrate bile salt sucrose (TCBS) agar. These strains, toge ther with our two previously unpublished isolates, were characterized and identified to be Vibrio harveyi in comparison with two ATCC Type s trains and one strain previously isolated from the tiger prawn, P. mon odon.