Deadly disease detected in farm-grown sea bass

İZMİR

A deadly disease type has been detected in sea bass grown in fish farms in Turkey’s Aegean region, a prominent aquaculture expert has said.

The findings of the scientific research conducted by Professor Tansel Tanrıkul and lecturer Ezgi Dinçtürk from İzmir Kâtip Çelebi University reveal that the disease causes mass death of sea bass.

The disease was named “pseudo-Pasteurella” because it resembled pasteurellosis, a zoonotic disease that is caused by infection with a specific type of bacteria.

“This contagious disease continues to spread in fish farms. The spread of the disease is expanding by the day and it harms aquaculture,” Tanrıkul said, noting that the disease can spread with water currents or fish escaping from the farms.

Explaining that the scientific study that includes the details of the disease was published in the International Journal of the Hellenic Veterinary Medical Society, Tanrıkul stressed that the disease does not show any symptoms from the outside, but it is detected by the enlargement of the spleen when an autopsy is performed.

Stating that the type of disease does not pose a danger to humans, the academic drew attention to the need for an antibiogram to prevent the disease.

“Appropriate doses of antibiotics should be administered. There is currently no vaccine for this disease. As this disease begins to spread by the day, a vaccine will definitely be developed,” he noted.