Mortality of therapeutic fish Garra rufa caused by Aeromonas sobria

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate a case of mass mortality of Garra rufa (G. rufa) from a fish hatchery farm in Slovakia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Causative bacterial agent was swabbing out of affected fish skin area and subsequently identified using commercial test system. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by the disk diffusion method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Infected G. rufa was characterized by abnormal swimming behaviour, bleeding of skin lesions and local haemorrhages. Despite of using recommended aquatic antibiotic treatment no improvement was achieved and Aeromonas sobria (A. sobria) was identified as a causative agent of fish mortality. Due to massive fish mortality, antibiotic susceptibility of pure isolated culture of A. sobria was evaluated employing eight antibiotics against human infections. A. sobria was resistant only against one antibiotic, namely ampicilin.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These results indicate that A. sobria can act as a primary pathogen of G. rufa and may be a potential risk factor for immunodeficient or immunoincompetent patients during the ichthyotherapy.</p>

Mortality of therapeutic fish Garra rufa caused by Aeromonas sobria

Objective:To investigate a case of mass mortality of Garra rufa (G. rufa) from a fish hatchery farm in Slovakia. Methods: Causative bacterial agent was swabbing out of affected fish skin area and subsequently identified using commercial test system. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by the disk diffusion method. Results: Infected G. rufa was characterized by abnormal swimming behaviour, bleeding of skin lesions and local haemorrhages. Despite of using recommended aquatic antibiotic treatment no improvement was achieved and Aeromonas sobria (A. sobria) was identified as a causative agent of fish mortality. Due to massive fish mortality, antibiotic susceptibility of pure isolated culture of A. sobria was evaluated employing eight antibiotics against human infections. A. sobria was resistant only against one antibiotic, namely ampicilin. Conclusions: These results indicate that A. sobria can act as a primary pathogen of G. rufa and may be a potential risk factor for immunodeficient or immunoincompetent patients during the ichthyotherapy.

Spa therapy in dermatology.

Spa therapy constitutes the use of mineral springs and thermal mud to soothe and heal various ailments. Like the mineral springs, seas and oceans are also important centers for spa therapy of which the most important is Dead Sea (DS). DS has been famous for thousands of years for its miraculous curative and cosmetic properties. Intensive research is going on using DS minerals in a wide range of dermatological conditions especially psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, vitiligo and other eczemas and several papers have been published in various international and pharmacological journals.