EPITHELIOCYSTIS DISEASE IN THE CULTURED AMBERJACK, SERIOLA-DUMERILI RISSO (CARANGIDAE)

Epitheliocystis infection affecting the gill and the pseudobranch of the cultured amberjack, Seriola dumerili Risso, is described. In hyperinfected fish, proliferative cell response around the epitheliocystis capsule resulted in gill and pseudobranch lamellar fusion, which led to mass mortalities in the 0+age class. Histopathological and scanning electron microscope observations showed that the target cell was the chloride cell since (1) epitheliocystis organisms were first found within the chloride cell; (2) chloride cells underwent degeneration in the filament epithelium, proliferated along the lamellae, and hypertrophied; and (3) cysts were found only in the trailing edge of the gill filament and in the interlamellar spaces where, in healthy fish, chloride cells are mainly located. In some cases, the pseudobranch of infected fish was much more severely affected than the gill. It is therefore suggested that, for diagnostic purposes, the pseudobranch should also be sampled when epitheliocystis disease is suspected. © 1990.