Search

Welfare and health of marine ornamental fish can be influenced by several environmental, nutritional and biological factors. Considering that the description “marine ornamental fish” includes over 1500 species of dozens of families with extremely different biological, nutritional and environmental requirements, it is obvious that extremely different health problems may be encountered by these animals during all the phases of their life, from capture or artificial reproduction to confinement into public or private aquaria. Keeping fish in a confined/artificial environment, whether in a farm tank or a private or public aquarium, generally results in their forced coexistence with stressful conditions that may adversely affect their wellbeing, making them prone to several diseases, primarily those due to parasitic and infectious agents. The factors which most commonly favor the development of a transmissible disease in a fish population held in a confined environment are numerous, such as water quality, nutrition deficiencies and/or imbalances, overcrowding, inadequate sanitization procedures and, of particular importance, the introduction of parasitized/infected fish into the tank without appropriate quarantine and health checks. This chapter focuses on the most common and important diseases caused by infectious and parasitic agents in marine ornamental fish kept in aquarium systems.

Zoos are an ex-situ form of conservation were animals are breed in confined areas for recreational exhibition, educational or research and conservation purposes. Parasites and infectious diseases have become a major concern in conservation of endangered species as they can lead to mortality, dramatic population declines and even contribute to local extinction events. Some studies have showed that gastrointestinal parasites of wild animals in captivity included zoonotic species and rise public health concerns. According to Italian law (D.Lgs 73/2005), zoos housing domestic, wild and exotic animals are required to address both animal health and welfare. The last two words are suggestive for parasites control mainly in a more extensive space where many animals of different species share the same environment as in safari park. The study was carried out to know the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of captive animals at Zoo Safari Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region. Fecal samples were collected in the biennium 2014/2016. The first year were recovered 94 samples, the second one 99. The seemingly low number of samples is due to the difficulties of getting the fecal material by a well known individual subject. In fact, we considered of little interest to analyze a fecal pool, much easier to get but poorly indicative; in this safari park many animals are not confined to a specific area but are free to move throughout the park area. The totality of fecal samples were screened using classical qualitative and quantitative analyzes. The species were grouped by theriological affinity in 3 groups: poligastric (18 species) and monogastric (4 species) herbivores and carnivores (2 species). In the first year, out of 94 fecal samples examined, 70 were positive for parasitic eggs/oocysts of different species indicating an overall prevalence of 74.5%, of which 4/17 carnivores 23.5%, 54/59 (91.5%) poligastric and 12/18 (66.6%) monogastric herbivores. The second year, out of 99 samples 56 were positive with a prevalence of 56.6% for gastrointestinal parasites, 6/16 (37.5%) among carnivores, 40/65 (61.5%) ruminants and finally 10/18 (55.5%) monogastric herbivores. Parasites recovered were: coccidia; Toxascaris leonina and Parascaris equorum; gastrointestinal strongyles and Nematodirus spp.; Capillaria spp. and Trichuris spp. McMaster examination showed an aggregate distribution (high proportion of parasite is concentrated in a few host individuals) of parasitic fauna inside the area. The Chi-square test revealed a significant difference (χ2=6.05; P

The humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, also known as Napoleon wrasse or Maori, is one of the giant coral reef fish of the Indo-Pacific Area. In public aquaria C. undulatus is frequently exhibited for its huge body size, longevity and as a conservation ambassador of reef ecosystems. The knowledge about diseases of this precious and rare fish species is very limited and only a few disorders have been reported in literature. In May 2008 one humphead wrasse was introduced to the Cattolica Aquarium, Italy and exhibited in a 56,000 l tank together with a mixed population of teleosts, sharks and rays. In February 2017 the fish, weighing 15 kg, died and no clinical signs were observed in the days before its death. The fish was immediately necropsied and standard parasitological, bacteriological and histological exams were carried out in order to investigate causes of death. At necropsy, fish showed slightly pale gill and the presence of a severe fibrinous peritonitis. In the posterior part of the kidney, a diffuse area of necrosis with suppurative-like aspect was also observed. No gross lesions were noticed in other organs and no parasites have been found both macro and microscopically. After 24 h of incubation at 25±1°C, from all the inoculated organs (kidney, spleen, liver and brain) a number of morphologically similar colonies grew on TSA+1.5% NaCl and TCBS plates respectively. The isolates were identified as Vibrio harveyi and antibiotic sensitivity test was performed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Histological exams showed the presence of bacterial aggregatesassociated to necrosis in most of the internal organs, especially in the kidney. Macrovacuolar liver steatosis was also observed. Furthermore several elongated fungal hyphae were found only in liver blood vessels. This case is to our knowledge the first report of systemic infection by Vibrio harveyi in a humphead wrasse and highlights the potential pathogenic role of these microorganisms in fish kept under confined condition.

Contains fulltext : 153534.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) INTRODUCTION: Adults with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) treated with haemodialysis experience mortality of between 15% and 20% each year. Effective interventions that improve health outcomes for long-term dialysis patients remain unproven. Novel and testable determinants of health in dialysis are needed. Nutrition and dietary patterns are potential factors influencing health in other health settings that warrant exploration in multinational studies in men and women treated with dialysis. We report the protocol of the "DIETary intake, death and hospitalisation in adults with end-stage kidney disease treated with HaemoDialysis (DIET-HD) study," a multinational prospective cohort study. DIET-HD will describe associations of nutrition and dietary patterns with major health outcomes for adults treated with dialysis in several countries. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: DIET-HD will recruit approximately 10,000 adults who have ESKD treated by clinics administered by a single dialysis provider in Argentina, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. Recruitment will take place between March 2014 and June 2015. The study has currently recruited 8000 participants who have completed baseline data. Nutritional intake and dietary patterns will be measured using the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA(2)LEN) food frequency questionnaire. The primary dietary exposures will be n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid consumption. The primary outcome will be cardiovascular mortality and secondary outcomes will be all-cause mortality, infection-related mortality and hospitalisation. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study is approved by the relevant Ethics Committees in participating countries. All participants will provide written informed consent and be free to withdraw their data at any time. The findings of the study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and to participants via regular newsletters. We expect that the DIET-HD study will inform large pragmatic trials of nutrition or dietary interventions in the setting of advanced kidney disease.

Over recent decades, parasitic diseases have been increasingly considered a sanitary and economic threat to Mediterranean aquaculture. In order to monitor the distribution of parasites in cultured marine fish from Italy and study their pathogenic effects on the host, a three-year survey based on parasitological and histopathological exams was carried out on 2141 subjects from eleven fish species and coming from different farming systems (extensive, intensive inland farms, inshore floating cages, offshore floating cages and submersible cages). A number of parasitic species was detected, mostly in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), mullets (Chelon labrosus, Mugil cephalus, Liza ramada) and sharpsnout sea bream (Diplodus puntazzo), with distribution patterns and prevalence values varying in relation to the farming system, in-season period and size category. The epidemiology and pathological effects of the parasites found during the survey are discussed.

The occurrence of intestinal infections due to microsporidia in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) farmed in Italy is described. The infected fish showed emaciation and low growth rate associated with a low level mortality. Morphological, histological and molecular analysis suggest that the microsporidian is a member of the genus Loma.

An experimental investigation of the propeller wake in a cavitation tunnel has been performed using particle image velocimetry (PIV). A PIV image analysis algorithm implementing iterative window offset and stretching has been adopted. The main characteristics of the propeller wake at different loading conditions have been pointed out by using phase sampling techniques. Longitudinal evolution of the blade viscous wake, developing from the blade surface boundary layers, of the trailing vortex sheets, due to the radial gradient of the bound circulation, is discussed up to 1 diameter downstream. In the near field the effects of turbulent diffusion and viscous dissipation, which cause a rapid space broadening of the velocity gradients in the trailing edge wake, are also examined. In the far wake the development of the slipstream instability and the breakdown of the hub and tip vortices are outlined.