Bacterial diseases in marine fish species: current trends and future prospects in disease management.

The fisheries sub-sector of aquaculture-i.e., the pisciculture industry, contributes significantly to a country's economy, employing a sizable proportion of the population. It also makes important contributions to household food security because the current demand for animal protein cannot be fulfilled by harvesting wild fish from riverines, lakes, dams, and oceans. For good pond management techniques and sustaining fish health, the fisherfolk, and the industry require well-established regulatory structures, efficient disease management strategies, and other extended services. In rearing marine fish, infections resulting from disease outbreaks are a weighty concern because they can cause considerable economic loss due to morbidity and mortality. Consequently, to find effective solutions for the prevention and control of the major diseases limiting fish production in aquaculture, multidisciplinary studies on the traits of potential fish pathogens, the biology of the fish as hosts, and an adequate understanding of the global environmental factors are fundamental. This review highlights the various bacterial diseases and their causative pathogens prevalent in the pisciculture industry and the current solutions while emphasising marine fish species. Given that preexisting methods are known to have several disadvantages, other sustainable alternatives like antimicrobial peptides, synthetic peptides, probiotics, and medicinal treatments have emerged to be an enormous potential solution to these challenges.

Plasma Hepcidin Levels in Healthy Children from Chandigarh, Northern India.

Hepcidin is a key molecule involved in iron homeostasis. We measured hepcidin levels in 50 healthy children from Chandigarh, Northern India for establishing normal ranges. Hepcidin ranges (19.96-36.6 ng/mL; 0-2 years) and (9.54-36.15 ng/mL; 2-6 years) with mean (SD) of 32.5 (4.84) ng/mL, and 31.13 (6.62) ng/mL respectively were noted in study participants. The mean (SD) and ranges for plasma hepcidin in boys and girls in the study was 31.01 (6.71) ng/mL (9.54-36.6 ng/mL) and 32.7 (4.14) ng/mL (19-36.2 ng/mL), respectively.

Systematic evaluation of paediatric cohort with iron refractory iron deficiency anaemia (IRIDA) phenotype reveals multiple TMPRSS6 gene variations.

Systematic screening identified patients with an iron refractory iron deficiency anaemia (IRIDA) phenotype and genotype in iron-deficient children in the Indian subcontinent. Cases of moderate to severe microcytosis and anaemia with no obvious cause and normal C-reactive protein, HbA2 and tissue transglutaminase antibody levels (n = 550) were put on a trial of oral iron for 4 weeks. Sixty of these 550 cases (11%) were variably refractory to oral iron therapy (<10 g/l Hb rise) at 4-6 weeks and were subsequently evaluated for plasma iron, ferritin and hepcidin levels. The mean age of this cohort was 2.06 years. Low-normal to normal ferritin and normal to high hepcidin levels were noted in 25/60 (41.6%) and 47/60 (78.3%), respectively. An IRIDA phenotype was noted in 38.3% (23/60) based on standard criteria. TMPRSS6 gene sequencing in 20 cases with IRIDA phenotype revealed 9 potentially deleterious intronic and two benign exonic variations in 12/20 cases (60%). Of these, 4 intronic and both exonic variations were noted in multiple cases and are likely to act synergistically leading to an IRIDA phenotype. However, given that only 38% (23/60 cases) of cases with iron refractoriness had IRIDA phenotype, a balanced approach is needed and other causes for refractoriness should be investigated before genetic studies for TMPRSS6 are undertaken.