Due to the intensification of rearing methods and systems, diseases and pathogens have been an

integral part and formidable obstacle to the aquaculture industry worldwide Bacterial disease are
responsible for heavy mortality in both wild and cultured fish .
Although aquaculture production is growing rapidly, disease prevention and treatment practices are
far from standardized or regulated. The rapid, worldwide, increase in aquaculture in recent
years has led to a correspondingly predictable increase in the incidence and severity of the
long recognized bacterial diseases and the emergence of a number of new infectious
conditions. Study of bacterial diseases of fish is rendered difficult by the current lac of
adequate understanding of the interactions taing place between bacteria, their hosts and
the aquatic ecosystem in general. !ater with high organic load, which favor the
multiplication of bacteria, rapidly changing temperatures, overcrowding, trauma and
transportation are the common environmental stress factors which predispose to clinical
disease in fish.
Aquatic organisms live in a microbe dense environment invariably vulnerable
to interactions with pathogenic or opportunistic microorganisms "orsley #$%&'() Saoto.et.al #$%*+() ,im
et.al.#-++.(. /ost of these microorganisms #e0ample motile aeromonads( are essentially
opportunistic pathogens which invade the tissues of a fish host rendered susceptible to infection by
stress factors or other disease processes. Allen.et.al) $%*', Austin 1Austin #-++&(. A
microorganism2s capacity for invasion is clearly one of the most important aspects of its
pathogenicity. /c3arthy14oberts#$%*+( . /ost of the causative microorganisms, however, are
naturally occurring saprophytes, which play a considerable role in the synthetic pathways and
degradative processes of the aquatic environment, using the organic and mineral matter of the
milieu for their growth and multiplication. Several worers have shown that the normal bacterial
flora of fish is a direct reflection of the bacterial population of the water in which they inhabit. As
these organisms are part of the normal fish environment, avoidance is impossible and we have to learn how to live with
them. The anatomy and physiology of fish are modified principally towards the two ma5or
ecological factors which control their e0istence, the aquatic environment and the poiilotherm
,
s
inability to control its temperature. These factors also have significance in dictating the the chain of
events following any pathological change such as microbial infection, traumatic damage or
nutritional deficiency 4oberts 4.6 et .al.# $%&.(
The significance of stress factors are critical in fish diseases than in
disease of any other farmed or wild species. Stress is the sum total of all the physiological
responses by which an animal tries to maintain or reestablish a normal metabolism in the face of a
physical or chemical force. Selye #$%7+(.Brett #$%7*( defined stress correlated with fish disease
situation and suggested that stress is a stage produced by an environmental or other factor which
e0tends the adaptive responses of an animal beyond the normal range, or which the disturbs the
normal functioning to such an e0tent that the chances of survival are significantly reduced. The
pathogenicity of primary pathogens lie Aeromonas salmonicida and /ycobacterium marinum are
invariably stress related and are capable of inducing serious diseases in most fish species.
/c3arthy14oberts #$%*+( 1Aronson$%-.. But species lie Aeromonas sobria or Aeromonas
hydrophila can only invade the tissues of fish already heavily stressed. Athird group of saprophytic
bacteria multiply in fish tissues after death but they are nono pathogenic. Because of this reason
great care must be taen in the interpretation of the significance of bacterial isolates taen from
fish which are moribund . 4oberts 4.6 et .al.# $%&.(.
3ommunicable diseases in fishes occur when susceptible host and virulent pathogen meet
Snieszo# $%&-(. There is an urgent need in aquaculture to develop microbial load control
strategies since disease out breas are recognized as an important constraint in aquaculture
production and trade. /ore over the development of antibiotic resistance has becoming a
matter of growing concern .At present disease is considered as a ma5or limiting factor in
the fin fish and shell fish production sector. So far conventional approaches such as the
use of disinfectants and antimicrobial drugs have had limited success in the prevention or
cure of aquatic disease. 8urthermore there is a growing concern about the use and abuse of
antimicrobial drugs in aquaculture. "abitual use of antibacterial can lead to problem with
bacterial resistance and unacceptable residues in aquaculture products and environment.
There has been an increasing incidence of multiple resistances
in pathogenic micro9 organisms in recent years. Drug resistance may be natural or acquired. :ram
negative bacteria are naturally resistant to penicillin and Bacitracin, as these antibiotics may act by
blocing the synthesis of cell wall components only found in gram positive bacteria. :ram negative
bacteria also play a significant role in fish mortality. Austin #-++.(. /ost antimicrobials, however act
by interfering with cell ribosome function and resistance to these substances may be acquired either by
mutation of a chromosomal gene which modifies the structure of the ribosomal target or by infection of
the cell with a resistance 4 factor plasmid. ;lasmid have a wide host range and are readily transferable
between different bacterial species. 4 factor plasmids carry genes which encode enzymes that catalyse
the conversion of antibiotics to inactive derivatives. These plasmids often confer simultaneous resistance
to several antibiotics, leading to the establishment of multiple resistant strain of bacteria, Aoi et al
#$%&$(. There is also genetic e0change between bacteria of human, animal, fish and environmental
origins Sun et al #-++%(. This clearly demonstrates the importance of careful management of antibiotic
usage in the aquatic environment, whether from human or animal discharge or from use in fish. The
continued use of sub therapeutic levels of antibiotics to prevent diseases increases the liely hood of
establishing resistant pathogenic bacteria. This may ultimately result in the outbrea of diseases which
cannot be controlled by antibiotic therapy ./a5ority of such resistant strains are potential human
pathogens ."uddleston et. .al #-++..( "ence fishery products which are of great importance for human
nutrition worldwide and provide clear health benefits can act as a source of infection .,romhout et.al
#.$%*7(
According to !"< much needs to be done to reduce the over and inappropriate use of antimicrobials.
The emphasis in disease management should be on prevention which is liely to be more cost effective
than cure. This may lead to less reliance on the use of chemicals. The overall use of antibiotics is
showing a decreasing trend recently due to consumer awareness and strict norms followed during e0port.
"ence there is an urgent need to loo for eco9 friendly disease preventive measures to promote
sustainable aquaculture. Although the application of antibiotics and chemicals can be effective in
controlling pathogens in aquatic animal farms, the residues of these compounds in the me at
may be a threat to the health of consumers #Biswas et al., -+$+(. Antibiotic therapy is
undesirable, as there is the potential for enhanced microbial resistance and the accumulation of
residues in the tissues of the fish Siwici,# $%*%(.
Disease prevention through dietary immune modulation is a strategy
that would become more widely recognized as codes of conduct in aquaculture
#Saai$%%%(.3hemotherapeutic treatment or prophylactic vaccination methods are seldom entirely
satisfactory unless steps are taen to strengthen the immune system and also to correct the
mediating factors. Due to the emergence of drug resistant pathogen and also the unavoidable side
effects of synthetic or semi synthetic chemotherapeutic agents, there is more need to e0plore the
naturally e0isting antimicrobial agents .;lants form the best sources of such agents. . =atural plant
products have been reported to promote various activities lie growth promotion, appetite
stimulation, tonic and immune stimulation #3itarsu -++-( "erbal supplements used in aqua feeds
are harmless because they are natural product and therefore pose no threat to fish health and
aquatic environment.;hytotherapy will reduce the side effects of applying synthetic compounds
and the cost and also mae it ecofriendly. /any scientists believe that the word consumption of
medical plants is growing rapidly #Aliyu et al., -++&(. 4ecently, several efforts have been made to
replace chemical drugs by herbal medicine in aquaculture industry in many countries #D>genci et
al., -++') 3itarasu et al., -++.) <baroh and Achionye9=zeh, -+$$(. ?n fact, most research has
focused on the role of plant e0tracts in stimulating the immune system in fish to combat with
bacterial, parasitic and fungal agents #Sivaram et al., -++@) 4ao and 3harabarti, -++7) 3itarasu et
al., -++.) 4ao et al., -++.) Divyagnaneswari et al., -++&) Sarar et al., -+$$( The results showed
that .- species of medicinal plants or herbs could inhibit the growth of these organisms. Therefore,
it is of great interest to determine whether herbs might be used as an alternative to presently used
chemotherapeutics to treat bacterial diseases in aquatic animals .Since many species of herbs are
used as human foods, e.g., holy basil #<cimum sanctum(, guava #;isidium guava( and Amblica
officinalis . ;lant derived phyto me dicin es ha ve gr eat promise in the treatment of
infectious diseases., wor with g rea te r a ccura c y than chemotherapeutic agents and a viable
solution for all problems which fish culture faces today, it is probable that their use would be safe
for aquatic animals and for human consumers of aquatic animal products.
Tilapia is an important model for studying of fish physiology, particularly because of its broad
tolerance to an array of environments. 3urrently Tilapia are the second most farmed fish in the
world with an annual production e0ceeding -.* million tons in -+$+.They e0hibit a versatile a
d adaptability to different e n vi r o n m e n ta l conditions to match the vast array of their
ecological habitats.
4esult and discussion
The diagnostic bacteriology of fish is basically similar to that of higher animals, but
many of the wide range of potential fish pathogens are from genera unfamiliar to the
veterinary or medical microbiologist. ?solation and interpretation of results also pose a
number of problems due to the characteristics of the adequate environment, which often
has its own heavy microbial flora, and the intimate relationship between the physiology
of poiilotherms and its environment.
A significant number of bacterial diseases of fish involve microorganisms which are
components of the normal flora of gut, integument, or their habitat. !hich only become
pathogenic under the influence of environmental changes such as rapid alteration of
temperature, pollution. or dietary or hormonal stresses. There are several diagnostic eys
available for the fish pathogenic bacteria Bulloc #$%&$9( Bewis#$%&'( Shotts1 Bulloc#$%&7(. The
ta0onomic scheme of :lorioso. et al #$%&@( aimed at definition of all types of bacterial pathogens of
aquatic animals in the most comprehensive but is more demanding in time and media. A
particularly useful guide to the isolation and identification of fish pathogenic bacteria is given by
8reichs and /illler #$%%'( Bulloc$%&$ has designed a ey for definition of the :ram positive
bacteria which is based solely on the morphological criteria of the organism. ,venberg $%%$ and
4odric $%%$ classified the bacterial pathogen associated with fish in to two, the indigenous and the
non9indigenous bacterial pathogen. The non9indigenous bacterial pathogen contaminate the fish or
fishes habitat are clostridium botulinum, Bisteria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus, Salmonalla
species, Ascherichia coli etc. the indigenous bacterial pathogens are those which are naturally
living in the fish2s habitat., they are vibriyo species Aeromonas species etc.