ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744105, India.
Dis Aquat Organ. 2021 Mar 11;144:55-59. doi: 10.3354/dao03569.
We report hirudiniasis caused by the leech Hemiclepsis marginata asiatica Moore, 1924 in albino red-bellied pacu (pirapitinga) Piaractus brachypomus (Cuvier, 1818), constituting the first documentation of a freshwater fish species being affected in India. The outbreak occurred in a tank of an aquarium-fish retailer; infested fish appeared asphyxiated, unable to swim or swimming upside down, with cloudy eyes and body with thick mucus secretion. The prevalence and mortality was 100%, with a mean intensity of 81 leeches per fish. The histopathology of the morbid fish revealed degenerative necrosis, eosinophilic infiltration in the muscle tissue and haemorrhages in the fin membrane. The leech mitochondrial 18S rDNA and 12S rDNA genes were characterised and submitted to GenBank under accession numbers MN380443 (18S) and MK733282 (12S). A maximum likelihood tree was constructed using 12S rDNA gene sequences to demonstrate the phylogenetic position of Hemiclepsis marginata asiatica among its congeners.
我们报告了由 1924 年 Moore 命名的亚洲医蛭 Hirudo marginata asiatica 引起的白化红腹锯脂鲤（pirapitinga）Piaractus brachypomus（Cuvier，1818）的蛭类病，这是在印度首次记录淡水鱼类受到影响。疫情发生在一家水族馆鱼类零售商的一个水箱中；受感染的鱼表现出窒息、无法游泳或倒着游泳，眼睛混浊，身体有厚厚的黏液分泌。流行率和死亡率为 100%，平均每条鱼有 81 条医蛭。病态鱼的组织病理学显示退行性坏死、肌肉组织嗜酸性浸润和鳍膜出血。从医蛭中提取的线粒体 18S rDNA 和 12S rDNA 基因进行了特征分析，并在 GenBank 中以 MN380443（18S）和 MK733282（12S）的登录号提交。使用 12S rDNA 基因序列构建最大似然树，以展示亚洲医蛭在其同属种中的系统发育位置。
