Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) – Gross Pathology

Cardiovascular System
by Hugh Ferguson
Figure 2. Salmon with CMS. Necrosis in the atrium of this fish has been so severe that it has ruptured. Note that the ventricle appears normal, due only to the fact that the compact layer remains largely unaffected.

Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS), is a severe heart disease of Atlantic salmon.  This transmissible condition has been diagnosed in several countries, especially Norway, where it was first reported, but also Scotland, Ireland and the Faroes. It is causally linked to the Piscine Myocarditis Virus (PMCV), closely allied to the Totiviridae. Typically, CMS occurs in the biggest, fastest-growing fish that never go off their feed – indeed their stomach is usually full of pellets when they suddenly die! Brood stock are also susceptible. This disease has an...

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GIANT CELLS IN FISH

Multisystem
by Hugh Ferguson
Figure 1. Multiple giant cells in the peritoneal cavity of salmon, a response to vaccine, its bright red character apparent (arrows). Similar to so-called Splendore-Hoeppli reactions (asteroid bodies).

Multinucleated cells, often simply called giant cells, are found in a variety of situations in teleost fish. They are not uncommon in granulomatous inflammatory responses, such as bacterial kidney disease, proliferative kidney disease, or as a response to vaccine, and are a result of fusion of macrophages or epithelioid cells. They are also found in virus infections, so-called syncytial giant cells, in which a number of non-macrophage cells, such as hepatocytes, fuse together. But giant cells are also found in normal fish as osteoclasts. Although...

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Cataracts in Salmonids – Gross Pathology

Eye
by Carlos Sandoval
Atlantic salmon with cataract. Note that the opacity occupies more than 75% of the lens.

Cataracts are changes in the clarity of the lens so that it appears cloudy. Such changes are a clinical or gross diagnosis, and there may be no histopathological correlate. Nevertheless, opacity of the lens results in reduced ability to see. Cataracts may be divided into primary or secondary disease. In primary cataract, opacity of the lens is the only sign of disease in the eye, while in secondary cataract the lens changes occur as a consequence of other intraocular disease. A wide variety of causes...

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Strawberry Disease in Rainbow Trout– Histopathology

Skin
by Hugh Ferguson
Figure 1. Strawberry disease in rainbow trout in freshwater showing loss of scales, and accompanying haemorrhage into the scale pockets. Note the severity of the dermal inflammation, which is mostly mononuclear, and largely avoids the epidermis.

Strawberry Disease (SD) is a chronic, nonlethal skin condition that affects Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the United States, several European countries (Scotland, England, Switzerland, Germany, France, among others), Chile and Peru (Sandoval 2017, unpublished report). In Europe it is also known as Red Mark Syndrome (RMS) or Cold-Water Strawberry Disease (CWSD). SD is characterized by raised, sometimes bright red inflammatory lesions that can occur in almost any size of fish bigger than fingerlings, but usually in growing or market-sized fish. The disease presents as...

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Epitheliocystis in Cobia – Histopathology

Gills and Pseudobranchs
by Carlos Sandoval
Cobia, gill: abundant lamellar basophilic inclusions are observed, consistent with severe epitheliocystis infection H&E

Aquaculture of cobia (Rachycentrum canadum) has gained popularity in the last decade, and this species is now farmed in several countries in Latin America and Asia. Epitheliocystis is a chlamydia or rickettsia-like organism infecting the gills and skin of a variety of species in both fresh and saltwater. The disease has been reported in at least 90 species of marine and freshwater fish in both the southern and northern hemispheres. At least four bacterial species may be involved in this condition: Candidatus Piscichlamydia salmonis (Salvelinus...

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