February 15, 2008
 

Scientist discovers new species of parasite found in fish farms

A scientist, Anders Jorgensen, has discovered a new species of parasite that infects farmed fish and causes serious disease.

Parasites of the genus spironucleus are known to produce serious illness in farmed and aquarium fish. These parasites create foul-smelling abscesses in muscles and internal organs of farmed salmons.

The first reported outbreaks of this disease in farmed salmon were in the late 1980s. It was initially thought that the cause was spironucleus barkhanus, a fairly common fish parasite.

However, Jorgensen's studies showed that the parasite in farmed salmon is genetically different from the species found in wild salmon, although they appear to be identical. Based on this observation, the parasite in farmed salmon is now categorised as a new species - spironucleus salmonicida.

Jorgensen said the discovery shows that genetic methods needs to be utilised for correct identification of spironucleus, as identical-looking parasites might in fact be genetically different. He added that exact disease-causing organism identification is crucial in finding the cause of disease outbreaks while providing appropriate diagnostic methods.