First isolation of Carnobacterium maltaromaticum from farmed Rainbow Trout in Virginia

Abstract

Objective: Carnobacterium maltaromaticum is considered an emerging pathogen of salmonids in the United States and around the world. Methods: Bacterial cultures obtained from the posterior kidney and skin of moribund Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss from a commercial aquaculture facility in Virginia, USA, grew C. maltaromaticum, which was confirmed by additional phenotypic and molecular characterization. Result: A presumptive diagnosis based on the clinical signs, necropsy observations, histopathology, and bacterial cultures was bacterial septicemia due to C. maltaromaticum. Conclusion: This represents the first documentation of C. maltaromaticum in Rainbow Trout from Virginia.