Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science
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Pertanika · Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science

Official journal of Universiti Putra Malaysia for peer-reviewed research across tropical agriculture and allied agricultural sciences.

e-ISSN 2231-8542 ISSN 1511-3701
Research article

Retrospective Identification of Bacterial Depository Revealed that Streptococcus iniae was Responsible for Some of the Streptococcosis Cases in Cultured Red Tilapia in Malaysia since 2006

Siti Hawa Mohamad Ali, Mohd Syafiq Mohammad Ridzuan, Siti Zahrah Abdullah, Nur Nazifah Mansor, Mohd Firdaus Nawi, Mohd Zamri-Saad and Mohammad Noor Azmai Amal

KeywordsOreochromis sp., red tilapia, streptococcosis, Streptococcus iniae
Article content

Abstract

This paper reports the identification of Streptococcus iniae from a large collection of isolates previously identified as Streptococcus sp., Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis or Leuconostoc sp. A total of 204 bacterial isolates recovered either from the brain, eye, or kidney of red tilapias in previous disease outbreaks and disease monitoring in Malaysia from 2006 to 2008 were used. PCR identification revealed that 34 (16.7%) of the isolates were confirmed as S. iniae. Our records showed that S. iniae-infected fish exhibited lethargy, exophthalmia, and erratic swimming patterns. Pathological lesions including generalised congestion of the internal organs, splenic infarction with soft and oedematous brain. Histopathological examination revealed multifocal encephalitis as one of the major findings. However, 44% and 26.5% of the tilapias from which S. iniae was isolated did not manifest any clinical sign and pathological lesion, respectively. This study revealed that S. iniae was responsible for streptococcosis in cultured red tilapia in Malaysia since 2006.