The adhesion of Vibrio anguillarum to host tissues and its role in pathogenesis

Abstract. Vibrio anguillarum was shown to adhere to excised sections of rainbow trout gut in numbers which were a function of the concentration of bacterial cells and the time for which the tissue was exposed. Using a standardized method for assaying adhered bacteria the course of infection with vibriosis in rainbow trout was studied. It is suggested that the gut may be an important site of bacterial multiplication in slowly developing infections of mature fish. Bacteria adhere to gut sections of fish protected by vaccination substantially less than to sections from non-vaccinated fish.