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At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Tissue damage in salmonids caused by Halisidota argentata Packard

During the histological examination of a collection of wild and hatchery salmonids, a peculiar foreign body was occasionally observed in various organs, particularly in the viscera. These objects, usually accompanied by a focal inflammation, were observed in 10 of 75 samples of wild trout and salmon collected in Oregon and Washington and were believed to represent an unknown type of parasitism. Their identity remained obscure until a massive concentration was observed in the tissues of wild coho salmon, ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ), from Minter Creek on the Olympic peninsula of Washington and in hatchery coho salmon from the Minter Creek Biological Station. The distribution of the structures suggested the intestinal tract as a point of origin. Subsequent stomach examinations revealed small, partially digested insect fragments with many long, spine-covered hairs. The insects were identified as second or third instars of the lepidopteran larvae, Halisidota argentata Packard. The spine-covered hairs penetrated the stomach wall and produced the observed lesions by working in an apparent porcupine quill-fashion throughout the body of the fish. The pathology of the Minter Creek salmon was sufficiently extensive to merit a description of the condition for the benefit of other workers who may encounter this rather unusual phenomenon and confuse it with an actual parasitic infection.

Oregon, Washington

New host and locality record for Triaenophorus crassus forel (Cestoda: pseudophyllidea)

The adult form of Triaenophorus crassus Forel, 1868 (= T. robustus Olsson, 1893; = T. tricuspidatus morpha megadentatus Wardle, 1932) occurs as an intestinal parasite in the pike, Esox lucius L., a holarctic species of wide distribution. Preliminary life-history stages include procercoid development in copepods of the genus Cyclops followed by plerocercoid development in the musculature of a variety of coregonid and salmonid fishes. The unsightly appearance of even moderate plerocercoid infections is often sufficient to render fish unacceptable for human consumption. In the prairie provinces of Canada the incidence and intensity of T. crassus infections in the commercially important whitefishes constitute a serious economic problem.

Alaska, British Columbia, Northwest Territories

Chemotherapy of hexamitiasis in fish

Heramita salmonis , the causative agent of hexamitiasis in salmonoid fishes, is endemic in most trout and salmon hatcheries throughout North America. The etiologic agent, a protozoan flagellate, ostensibly causes cellular damage in the caecal mucosa of afflicted fishes. It is also believed that heavy infections may interfere with normal growth by direct competition with the host for available nutrients in the intestinal tract. While the role of this supposed pathogen is relatively unclear, its presence in test fishes at this laboratory has caused considerable concern during the conduct of controlled nutritional studies. Although McNeil et al (1941) showed that the incidence of Hexamita infections is widespread, hexamitiasis appears to be commercially important only in turkeys (Almquist and Johnson, 1951) and fish (Davis, 1953). Very little has been reported on the protozoacidal effects of various drugs on the Hexamita infections in fish (Fish and McKernan, 1940; Smith and Quistorff, 1940; and Nelson, 1941). The most widely used chemotherapeutic agents are p-carbamidobenzene arsonic acid (carbarsone) and mild mercurous chloride (calomel). Initial attempts at this laboratory to control the parasite in infected fish populations using these two drugs at the recommended concentrations demonstrated that the former was erratic in effectiveness and the latter was toxic and produced loss in fish weight. The present study, therefore, was undertaken to find more effective therapeutic agents which would be palatable, non-toxic, and still effectively eradicate the protozoan from fish.

Journal of Parasitology