<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>Since the middle of the 1980s, severe skin disorders have been observed in Baltic cod (<italic>Gadus morhua</italic>) each year. Available data on the spectrum of bacteria isolated from the clinical cases being limited, and evaluation of the microbial background of fish skin lesions being useful, a bacteriological examination has been undertaken.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Material and Methods</h3>
<p>A total of 1,381 cod were caught during two voyages of the Baltica research vessel in the Polish exclusive economic zone of the southern Baltic Sea. After an examination which found lesions in 164 of the fish, a microbiological analysis was performed to isolate bacteria from them. The collected strains were phenotyped and genotyped, and their antimicrobial resistance was analysed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) techniques.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Results</h3>
<p>Bacteriological examinations provided 850 isolates. The dominant microorganisms were mesophilic <italic>Aeromonas</italic> spp., <italic>Pseudomonas</italic> spp. and <italic>Shewanella baltica</italic>. Opportunistic bacteria potentially hazardous to human health were also isolated, <italic>e.g</italic>. <italic>Alcaligenes faecalis</italic>, <italic>Staphylococcus epidermidis</italic>, <italic>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</italic> and <italic>Vibrio</italic> sp. The MIC analysis determined the highest number of bacteria to resist sulphamethoxazole and amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>Most of the collected bacteria were opportunistic pathogens for fish, widespread in the aquatic environment, and potentially threatening to humans.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Introduction
Since the middle of the 1980s, severe skin disorders have been observed in Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) each year. Available data on the spectrum of bacteria isolated from the clinical cases being limited, and evaluation of the microbial background of fish skin lesions being useful, a bacteriological examination has been undertaken.


Material and Methods
A total of 1,381 cod were caught during two voyages of the Baltica research vessel in the Polish exclusive economic zone of the southern Baltic Sea. After an examination which found lesions in 164 of the fish, a microbiological analysis was performed to isolate bacteria from them. The collected strains were phenotyped and genotyped, and their antimicrobial resistance was analysed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) techniques.


Results
Bacteriological examinations provided 850 isolates. The dominant microorganisms were mesophilic Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Shewanella baltica. Opportunistic bacteria potentially hazardous to human health were also isolated, e.g. Alcaligenes faecalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Vibrio sp. The MIC analysis determined the highest number of bacteria to resist sulphamethoxazole and amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.


Conclusion
Most of the collected bacteria were opportunistic pathogens for fish, widespread in the aquatic environment, and potentially threatening to humans.

Microbiological analysis of skin lesions of cod <italic>(Gadus morhua)</italic> from the southern part of the Baltic Sea

Journal of Veterinary Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Microbiological analysis of skin lesions of cod  from the southern part of the Baltic Sea

Introduction
Since the middle of the 1980s, severe skin disorders have been observed in Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) each year. Available data on the spectrum of...

Microbiological analysis of skin lesions of cod (Gadus morhua) from the southern part of the Baltic Sea

Published Online: Mar 23, 2024

Page range: 79 - 92

Received: Jul 21, 2023

Accepted: Jan 17, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2024-0004

Keywords
Baltic cod (), fish skin disorders, marine bacteria, Baltic Sea, antimicrobial resistance

© 2024 Agnieszka Pękala-Safińska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Microbiological analysis of skin lesions of cod (Gadus morhua) from the southern part of the Baltic Sea

Published Online: Mar 23, 2024

Page range: 79 - 92

Received: Jul 21, 2023

Accepted: Jan 17, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2024-0004

KeywordsBaltic cod (), fish skin disorders, marine bacteria, Baltic Sea, antimicrobial resistance

© 2024 Agnieszka Pękala-Safińska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Baltic cod (), fish skin disorders, marine bacteria, Baltic Sea, antimicrobial resistance