Occurrence of spp. along the Algerian Mediterranean coast in wild and farmed and .

BACKGROUND AND AIM

bacteria are autochthonous inhabitants of aquatic and marine environments. Certain strains are responsible for important seafood-borne outbreaks in developed nations. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of spp. along the Algerian Mediterranean coast in several samples of two prominent wild and farmed marine fishes, and .

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 350 (n=280 farmed and n=70 wild) and 340 (n=250 farmed and n=90 wild) were sampled among three different locations along the Algerian Mediterranean coastal area. The samples were processed for research according to the ISO methods. Isolated colonies were identified utilizing biochemical tests and consecutively confirmed with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry, combined with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis when appropriate, or confirmed with PCR analysis alone.

RESULTS

A total of 42 spp. were detected only among the farmed fishes. Taking into account, all 690 fishes sampled, the incidence of spp. was 6.08% (with peaks up to 7.92%) among the total number of farmed fishes. Overall, 25 strains were isolated from and 17 strains were isolated from . The isolated strains belonged to four different species and were represented as follows: (n=20), (n=15), (n=5), and (n=2). The incidence of was higher in places characterized by greater levels of anthropogenic contamination of seawater.

CONCLUSION

Considering the growing production and consequent rising consumption of farmed fish in Algeria, the reported incidence of and the presence of potentially pathogenic strains of such as cause particular concern for food safety matters. Even if innovative and natural techniques are desired in aquaculture, proper hygiene and manufacturing practices are essential for the correct management of infection risk in farmed fishes at both industrial and domestic levels.