First Records of Vibriosis in Pacific Salmon Cultured in Canada, and Taxonomic Status of the Responsible Bacterium, Vibrio anguillarum

Abstract

First proven outbreaks of piscine vibriosis in Canada are recorded. The disease occurred in four species of Pacific salmon that were being cultured in sea water at facilities in Nanaimo and West Vancouver, B.C., and both the disease and the causative bacterium (identified as Vibrio anguillarum) are described.A brief review of the literature on Vibrio fish pathogens suggests that most of these organisms might reasonably be assigned to the species V. anguillarum, and a tentative archtype for the species is described. Before the species is formally recognized, however, a large-scale comparative study is needed to provide the uniform information that is now lacking for individual strains of this species and to determine whether in fact it can be distinguished from other heterotrophic marine vibrios, many of which are commensal with marine animals.