Evidence that enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) was present in Arkansas by the late 1960s: New insights into the epidemiology of ESC

Enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), a disease of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, was first reported in 1979 based on isolates obtained from 1976 through 1978. Channel catfish that had been preserved in 1970, labeled "nu tritional cranial spot," and stored at the Stuttgart National Aquaculture R esearch Center were tested with Gram stains, histology, and immunohistochem istry to demonstrate that the specimens were actually infected by Edwardsie lla ictaluri (the causative agent of ESC). A reexamination of catfish dis:a se case records has indicated that ESC might have been present in Arkansas in 1969. Investigation of these old records and specimens has led to insigh ts on the discovery and epidemiology of the disease.