Seasonal Mortality of Wild Atlantic Menhaden (<i>Brevoortia tyrannus</i>) Is Caused by a Virulent Clone of <i>Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum</i>; Implications for Biosecurity along the Atlantic Coastal United States.

ABSTRACT: Atlantic menhaden are a highly migratory marine species in the Eastern United States that suffer from seasonal chronic mortality. Affected fish show neurologic signs referred to as spinning disease, including circling at the surface and erratic corkscrew swimming before death. We investigated three similar menhaden mortality events consistent with spinning disease in coastal New Jersey and New York between 2020 and 2021 to understand the cause. A unique strain of Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum (serogroup O3) was detected regularly in high loads, particularly in the brains of moribund fish, by both metagenomics and bacterial isolation. The most common histopathological changes in moribund fish were hemorrhagic meningitis, encephalitis, pyknosis, and karyorrhexis of hematopoietic tis

SUBMITTER: Lovy J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12017202 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature