Characterization of β‐haemolytic Group B <i>Streptococcus agalactiae</i> in cultured seabream, <i>Sparus auratus</i> L., and wild mullet, <i>Liza klunzingeri</i> (Day), in Kuwait

Abstract

Abstract Streptococcus agalactiae was isolated from cultured gilthead seabream, Sparus auratus L., and diseased wild Klunzinger's mullet, Liza klunzingeri (Day), in Kuwait Bay, Arabian Gulf. Isolates were catalase negative, β‐haemolytic, Gram‐positive cocci and serogroup B. Experimental infectivity trials with mullet and seabream brain isolates in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L., caused 100 and 90% mortality, respectively, within 7 days post‐inoculation indicating virulent S. agalactiae as the bacterial pathogen responsible for the epizootic in Kuwait Bay.