Pathological and microbiological features of Aeromonas salmonicida infection in the American eel (Anguilla rostrata).

Abstract

An ulcerative skin disease which is very similar clinically to that reported in Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) has caused morbidity in both wild and cultured populations of American eel (A. rostrata) in North Carolina, USA. Lesions appear to begin as localized, depigmented foci which spread to form large patches of necrotic skin up to 16 cm2 in area. The depig mented patches detach at the dermo-epidermal junction, forming large ulcers that expose underlying muscle. The infection commonly affects the head, producing cranial swelling and corneal edema.