A 14‐week feeding trial was conducted to determine the effects of dietary organic acids. The experimental diets were added with 0, 1, 2 or 3 g kg−1 of a novel organic acid blend or with 2 g kg−1 of potassium diformate and fed to triplicate groups of red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis sp.). Upon completion, tilapia were challenged by immersion with Streptococcus agalactiae. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the growth, feed utilization and nutrient digestibility among treatment groups despite a trend towards improved results with fish fed organic acid‐supplemented diets. Diet pH decreased, causing a reduction in the digesta pH of the stomach and gut. Total bacteria per gram of faeces were significantly (P<0.05) reduced from 1.81 × 108 colony‐forming units (CFU) (control group) up to 0.67 × 108 CFU in the fish fed organic acid diets. A similar trend was observed for adherent gut bacteria. Cumulative mortality of fish fed no organic acids was higher compared with fish fed organic acid‐supplemented diets at 16 days post challenge. The data showed that dietary organic acids can exert strong anti‐microbial effects and have the potential to exert beneficial effects on growth, nutrient utilization and disease resistance in tilapia.

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This study was conducted to determine the systemic, mucosal immunity and protective capacity of the feed‐based adjuvant vaccine (FAV) of Streptococcus agalactiae following oral vaccination against streptococcosis in tilapias. Two hundred and sixteen red tilapia fish were divided into three major groups. Each major group consisted eight tilapia kept in nine 2000 L glass aquaria. At day 0, all fish from the FAV group were fed with feed that had been incorporated with an adjuvant, while fish in the feed‐based vaccine (FNV) group were fed with vaccine incorporated into the pellet without adjuvant. Fish in the control‐unvaccinated group, FC, were fed with normal commercial pellet. Booster dose was performed on day 14 post immunization. Fish from each group were sacrificed on a weekly basis for the entire 7 weeks. Serum, body mucus and gut lavage fluid were evaluated for antibody responses by indirect ELISA, while histological examination was carried out on the gut following intraperitoneal challenge. The FAV group had a significantly higher protection (P < 0.05) following challenge with 3.4 × 109 CFU mL−1 of live S. agalactiae than FNV group. This level of protection may be due to high antibody responses, increase in size of gut‐associated lymphoid tissue and high number of lymphocytes in the FAV group.

BackgroundStreptococcosis is an important disease of tilapia throughout the world. In Malaysia, streptococcosis outbreak was commonly reported during the 3-month period of high water temperature between April and July. This study describes the duration of protection following single and double booster dose regimes against streptococcosis in tilapia using a feed-based vaccine containing formalin-killed Streptococcus agalactiae. A total of 510 tilapias of 120 ± 10 g were selected and divided into 3 groups. Fish of Group 1 were vaccinated at weeks 0 and 2 (single booster group) while fish of Group 2 were vaccinated at weeks 0, 2 and 6 (double booster group) with a feed-based vaccine against streptococcosis. Fish of Group 3 was not vaccinated. Serum samples were collected weekly to determine the antibody level while samples of eye, brain and kidney were collected for bacterial isolation. At week 10, all fish were challenged with live S. agalactiae and the survival rate was determined.ResultsBoth vaccinated groups showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in the antibody levels following the first booster dose, which lasted until week 6. Group 2 showed consistent high level of antibody following the second booster dose at week 6 and remained high until week 12. Challenge trial at week 10 resulted in 45 %, 70 % and 0 % rate of survival for Groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively.ConclusionDouble booster regime is most suitable to be applied for feed-based vaccination against streptococcosis prior to the start of the hot season.

Swabs from the brain, eyes and kidneys of tilapia from 11 farms were collected for a period of 2 years. They were grown on blood agar before cultures of suspected Staphylococcus aureus were subjected to ABI STAPH Detection Kit and PCR for identification. They were then grown on oxacillin resistance screening agar base (ORSAB) and subjected to PCR using the MRSA 17 kb forward and reverse primers to identify the methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). A total of 559 isolates of Staphylococcus spp. were obtained, from which 198 (35%) isolates were identified as S. aureus. Of the 198 S. aureus isolated from tilapias, 98 (50%) were identified as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Since global spread of multi-drug-resistant bacteria has increased in the past decade, this new finding in fish should be of concern.