Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.
Zebrafish. 2013 Sep;10(3):447-50. doi: 10.1089/zeb.2013.0868. Epub 2013 Jun 28.
Abstract Our zebrafish colony experienced a period of increased mortality rate of 6.5 times more deaths per month in a colony of over 13,000 zebrafish (Danio rerio), which developed over 3 months. We observed that before death, affected fish appeared emaciated, often with an abdominal bulge. We performed dissection on 18 fish that had this appearance and found in 15 that their gut was infected with a nematode that closely resembled Pseudocapillaria tomentosa. We devised a treatment protocol for this nematode infection, which involved addition of fenbendazole, a drug used to treat nematode infections in cattle and sheep, to the fish feed. Fenbendazole produced no severe side effects in the fish and several treatments have effectively eradicated the parasite from our colony. The mortality rate of our fish has decreased to a value of 0.7%/month (p<0.001, equal to that before the infection). We propose this protocol as an inexpensive alternative to having to rederive an entire colony from bleached eggs, and as a prophylactic measure used in quarantine facilities on a regular basis.
摘要 我们的斑马鱼种群在 3 个月的时间里经历了一个月内死亡率增加了 6.5 倍的时期，超过 13000 条斑马鱼（Danio rerio）的种群中出现了这种情况。我们观察到，在死亡之前，受影响的鱼显得消瘦，常常腹部肿胀。我们对 18 条出现这种情况的鱼进行了解剖，发现其中 15 条的肠道感染了一种与 P. tomentosa 非常相似的线虫。我们为这种线虫感染设计了一种治疗方案，即在鱼饲料中添加芬苯达唑，这是一种用于治疗牛和羊线虫感染的药物。芬苯达唑在鱼身上没有产生严重的副作用，多次治疗已经有效地从我们的种群中根除了寄生虫。我们的鱼的死亡率已经降低到 0.7%/月（p<0.001，与感染前相同）。我们建议将该方案作为一种替代方案，无需从漂白卵中重新衍生整个种群，并作为检疫设施的常规预防措施。
