Proliferative Gill Disease of Fish from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway,Mississippi

Abstract

Proliferative gill disease (PGD), a condition not previously reported in wild fish, was found in two channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus sampled from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Mississippi during June and July 1989. The parasite thought to cause PGD was observed in only one of the fish, but the distinctive lesions associated with this disease were prominent in both of the channel catfish. Organisms resembling the PGD parasite were also found in the gills of 4 of 18 largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides and 6 of 20 bluegills Lepomis macrochirus, but there was little or no host response to these parasites.