Bacterial Diseases of Wild Fish

Renibacterium salmoninarum is a significant pathogen of salmonids and the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease (BKD). Water temperature affects the replication rate of pathogens and the function of the fish immune system to influence the progression of disease. In addition, rapid shifts in temperature may serve as stressors that reduce host resistance. This study evaluated the...

Renibacterium salmoninarum is the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) affecting several species of Pacific salmon. The severity of BKD can range from a chronic infection to overt disease with high mortality as in the case of large losses of adult Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Great Lakes during late 1980s. The goal of this study was to empirically...

Mass mortality events in wild fish due to infectious diseases are troubling, especially given the potential for long-term, population-level consequences. Evolutionary theory predicts that populations with sufficient genetic variation will adapt in response to pathogen pressure. Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha were introduced into Lake Michigan in the late 1960s from a Washington...

Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) of salmonid fishes, caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum, has been recognized as a serious disease in salmonid fishes since the 1930s. This chapter discusses the occurrence and significance, etiology, and pathogenesis of BKD. It then describes the different vaccination procedures and the effects and side-effects of vaccination. Despite years of research...

Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum can cause significant morbidity and mortality in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), particularly in Chinook salmon of the stream (spring) life history type, which migrate to sea as yearlings rather than subyearlings. R. salmoninarum can be transmitted vertically from the female parent to the progeny in...