Characteristics of a Vibrio sp. Associated with the “Hitra Disease” of Atlantic Salmon in Norwegian Fish Farms

Abstract

A vibrio shaped bacterium has been isolated from nephric tissues of moribund atlantic salmon suffering from the socalled “Hitra disease”. Eighteen isolates of this bacterium, from geographically distant fish farms all along the Norwegian coast, were shown to be very similar in biochemical properties. Serotyping and DNA finger-printing provided additional evidence for similarity between the isolates and that they clearly differ from Vibrio anguillarum and Vibrio ordalii. The particular Vibrio associated with the “Hitra disease” has been designated Vibrio sp. TEO, and is assumed to be involved in the disease development. The bacterium has not been found in any healthy fish, even in farms with outbreaks of “Hitra disease”. The Vibrio sp. TEO elicited disease with similar symptoms when injected into healthy fish, and the same bacterium could be reisolated. © 1985, The Japanese Society of Fish Pathology. All rights reserved.