ABSTRACT: The presence of Aeromonas salmonicida, the etiological agent of furunculosis, was examined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA probe methodology in wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar taken from 3 Irish river systems. Blood samples from 61 individual fish were examined and the presence of pathogen was determined in 87% of the fish examined. However, the level of pathogen was extremely low, calculated at less than 100 A. salmonicida genome equivalents per fish. These data imply a widespread low level infection of A. salmonicida amongst wild salmon in Irish rivers.

KEY WORDS: Aeromonas salmonicida . DNA probe . Atlantic salmon

Published in DAO Vol. 21, No. 2 (1995) on March 9
ISSN: 0177-5103. Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 1995