Authors : Bodhe Y.G.1, Wadhai V.S.2
Page Nos : 167-176
Description :
The study was designed to investigate the microbial estimation in the fishes
Channa marulius and Clarias batrachus collected from Wainganga river of
Chandrapur and Gadchiroli District. Aquaculture products can harbour pathogenic
bacteria which are part of the natural microflora of the environment. A study was
conducted aiming at the isolation of human pathogenic bacteria in gills, intestines,
mouth and the skin of apparently healthy fish, C. morulias and C. batrachus.
Bacterial pathogens associated with fish can be transmitted to human beings from
fish used as food or by handling the fish causing human diseases. Differentiation
and characterization of various isolates was based on their growth characteristics on
specific culture media (biochemical and gram staining reactions). The following
human pathogenic bacteria were isolated Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus,
Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio cholera and Shigella dysenteriae.
All the bacterial species which were isolated from the fish were also present in the
initial water samples collected. The isolation of enteric bacteria in fish serves as
indicator organisms of faecal contamination and or water pollution. Their presence
also represents a potential hazard to humans. The mean bacterial load of the
isolates was found to be markedly higher than the recommended public health and
standard value of 5.0 x 106 CFU/ml which has been adopted by many countries.