Protozoan parasitic diseases

Diagnosis method
• wet mount of skin or gills with parasite
• histopathology of skin or gills with parasite
Thecamoeba sp
• is an ectoparasite on the gills of rainbow trout,
chinook salmon and coho salmon fry.
Acanthomoeba
• is an ectoparasite on the European catfish.
• As the amoebae are associated with bacterial
invasions, they are normally considered to be
secondary, and to be feeding on the gill bacterial
flora.
 Velvet/rust disease

• Causitive agent-Oodinium sp-dinoflagellate

parasites
• Symptoms- The infected fish exhibit Peppery
coating
• Presence of minute yellowish brown markings on
the body.
• clamped fins respiratory distress (breathing hard)
• The fish may show signs of irritation, shortage of
breath
 Contd…
• The trophont or feeding stage attaches to gills and skin
and penetrates epithelial cells by means of its rhizoids.
Treatment
• copper at 0.2 mg/l (0.2 ppm) to be repeated once in a
few days if necessary.
• Acriflavin at 0.2% solution (1 ml/l).
• Salt treatment for a prolonged duration at 2 g/l can
also be effective.
• Bath of 1% formalin dissolved in 10 l of tap water for
about 30 minutes.
 Cryptobia
• a biflagellated genus
• Attach in the gills of both fresh-water and
marine fish
• This parasites do not damage host cells and
has been suggested that Cryptobia may be a
commensal
 Costiasis
• Causitive agent-Ichthyobodo necatrix (= Costia
necator),
• Ichthyobodo is a small parasite of 10–15 μmin
length. The free-swimming stage is oval to
kidney-shaped with two pairs of flagella of
unequal length.
• The attached stage of Ichthyobodo is cuneiform
(wedge shaped) in shape without obvious flagella
and penetrates epithelial cells with a holdfast
organ
 Contd…...
Symptoms
• Infected fish may appear grey in colour and will
frequently turn on their flanks or ‘flash’
• Costiasis may develop in salmon smolts in seawater
• Heavy mucus secretion by infected animal sometimes
also referred to as “blue slime disease”.
Treatment
• formaldehyde and malachite green but tougher than
most protozoa.
• Prolonged KMnO₄ immersion and salt water bath (for
freshwater fishes) could be used for control.
 White spot disease
• Causitive agent-ciliated protozoan Ichthyophthirius
multifiliis
• infect most species of freshwater fish and is cosmopolitan
in distribution.
• Different life stages are- trophont (active feeding phase),
tomont (cyst phase), theronts (free swimming phase)
treatment
• Potassium permanganate can be applied at a concentration
of 2 mg/l and three treatments are given 2 to 3 days apart.
• A short-term bath of 250 mg/l formalin for 30 to 60
minutes followed by a water change can also be effectively
used to control l the infection.
  
Hole in the head disease (Head and
Lateral Line Disease):
• Hexamita (Spironucleus), a flagellated protozoon
• cause severe gastrointestinal disease if present in large
numbers
• Commonly affect the oscars and other cichlids
Symptoms
• weight loss, decreased activity and refusal of food.
• Fish (angel fish)may lie horizontally on the surface of
the water with the abdomen visibly distended.
Treatment
• metronidazole (Flagyl) 25 ppm in water every other
day for 3 days.
 Guppy Killer Disease
• Causqative agent- free-living or parasitic ciliated
protozoan
• pear-shaped protozoa
• The parasite is usually unaffected by parasiticides
due to its ability to burrow deeply into skin of
host.
• Best method of control is prevention through
sound husbandry practices.
 control
•  prevention through sound husbandry practices.
 Peritrichate ciliates

• Epistylis sp. and Heteropolaria colisarum –

commonly affect the freshwater fish
• This disease is usually not fatal in itself but
may open the fish up to secondary bacterial
disease.
• This infection could be easily treated with
formaldehyde
 Trichodinid peritrichs

• Ectoparasites of freshwater and marine fish

Symptoms
• Infected fish has a greyish sheen due to excess mucus
production and finally erosion of epithelium occurs.
Trichodina is a disc-shaped ciliate protozoan found on the
skin and gills of many fish.
treatment
• Trichodinds are difficult to eradicate using chemical
treatments – improvements in husbandry are essential.
 Myxosporidia
• Parasites of skin, gills of marine and freshwater fish.
Myxobolus cyprini
• Pernicious anaemia in carps
• Pararsites often concentrating in gills and destroying
them leading to haemorrhagic anaemia and death.
• Myxobolus koi has been implicated in many
outbreaks in South East Asia.
• Ski infections less pathogenic than gill infections but
skin infections can decrease market value of fish
Microsporidia - It is parasitic in fish skin and gills.
eg. Glugea anomala.
Mircosporean
• They have unicellular spores with single or
dinucleate sporoplasm and an extrusion
apparatus always with a polar tube and cap.
• Obligatory intracellular parasites.
eg. Glugea anomala, Plistophora sp.
 Neon Tetra Disease
• Causitive agent-Plistophora sp.
• It is a microsporidian sporozoan parasite.
• It attacks the musculature of the affected fish.
• Infected muscle contains numerous sporoblasts
containing spores
• High mortality is usually associated with this disease.
 treatment
• Sporozoan infections are usually unresponsive to
treatment and diseased fish should be removed from the
tank
 General Control measures
• Treatment depends on the lifecycle
• a) non-encysting and
• b) encysting
• Non-encysting – e.g. Trichodina and Ichthyobodo -
can be treated by single short term drug application
• Encysting – e.g. Ichthyophthirius and Amyloodinium -
need treatment directed against the free-swimming
infective stage. Requires that chemicals be present in
the medium for a long time.
• Standard Iodophor disinfectants kill these parasites.
 Internal protozoan parasites

• Myxosoma cerebralis – affect the internal ear of the

juveniles fishes and cause deformities during the
development of the cranial cartilage.
• These are typical myxopsporedians
• Trophozoite stage is well developed and the main site
of proliferation is brain including the auditory canal
and also the gill arches.
• Fish swim in-tail chasing or whirling manner when fed
or disturbed giving the disease name whirling disease.