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		Vibrio Infections of Fish
		Page 3 of 4	Pages: 1 . 2 . 3 . 4
		Treatment Before any treatment with antibiotics, a thorough investigation of water quality and husbandry practices should be conducted. Removal of underlying problems is essential to successful resolution of the problem. Occasionally, removal of contributing factors (i.e., poor water quality) will be all that is required to control the infection, but in most cases it is prudent to treat an active Vibrio outbreak with antibiotic therapy. The selection of an antibiotic should be based on results of an in vitro sensitivity test. There are two antibiotics which have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in food fish (catfish and salmonids) in the United States. Terramycin contains the antibiotic oxytetracycline. It is sold for fish in a sinking feed and should be fed for 10 days. Fish which have been fed Terramycin should not be eaten for at least 21 days following treatment (the legal withdrawal time) to ensure complete elimination of drug residue from edible tissue. Romet is a potentiated sulfonamide which contains two drugs, sulfadimethoxine and ormetoprim. It is sold for fish in a floating feed and should be fed for 5 days. The withdrawal time of Romet for catfish is only 3 days because the drug is bound in the skin of the fish which is removed when catfish are cleaned. In salmonids, however, the withdrawal time is 6 weeks because the fish are not skinned during processing. Either drug will be effective if the strain of Vibrio is sensitive to it and if sick fish ingest enough medication to maintain the drug in the bloodstream throughout the treatment period. In pet fish, the traditional treatment for bacterial disease has been the addition of antibiotics to tank water. This practice should only be pursued as a last resort. Antibiotics should be delivered to fish in medicated feeds or by injection. Flake foods which contain Terramycin or Romet are commercially available through pet retail outlets for use in aquarium fish. Because there is no FDA-approved antibiotic available for use in pet fish, veterinary supervision of antibiotic therapy is recommended. If fish do not respond to antibiotic therapy within 48 hours a sample of sick fish and water should be sent to a fish disease diagnostic laboratory to confirm the original diagnosis and determine whether additional problems, such as parasitism, may also be present. Vaccination Commercial vaccines are available to prevent vibriosis in salmonids. In the United States, animal vaccines are regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In species other than salmonids, veterinary supervision will be required for vaccine access and use. Vaccinated fish appear to grow and survive better than their unvaccinated counterparts, however the exact nature of the immunity provided is not clear. Most commercial products are bivalent vaccines; this means that they provide protection to two different organisms, in this case V. anguillarum and V. ordalli . Vaccines are usually administered to the fish by immersion, although injectable and oral products are also available. Efficacy of oral vaccines has not been as good as injectable or immersion products.Vaccines made from sonicated, heat-killed bacteria are also available and effective. more ...

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