World Aquaculture 63 Epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS)— A great concern in modern aquaculture Debtanu Barman*1, Vikash Kumar2 and Sagar C. Mandal3 Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS) is one of the most destructive diseases among fresh and brackish water fish in the Asia-Pacific region and it is very common in northern and southern India, causing considerable loss to fish farmers. Ulcerative disease syndrome has been used to describe a group of cutaneous diseases on finfish (Hargis 1985). Among different ulcerative diseases, the first report of a EUS like condition came in summer 1971, in farmed ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis), in Oita Prefecture, Japan (Egusa and Masuda 1971). A similar disease was also reported in March 1972 from Central Queensland, Australia, where several species of estuarine fish had developed large shallow circular or irregular skin lesions, termed ‘red spot disease’ (Rodgers and Burke 1981). India witnessed the first major outbreak of EUS in 1988 in the states of Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal. It gradually spread until 1992 in the states of Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Haryana (Das 1997). In India, Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) has been monitoring the disease since early 1988. Over the past two decades, EUS has had a serious impact on tropical fisheries, resulting in heavy economic loss. It is one of the most destructive diseases in fresh and brackish water fish in the Asian Pacific region. It is very common in India and has spread through rivers, reservoirs and paddy fields to neighbouring states, causing considerable loss to fish farmers (Muthukrishnan et al. 2008). Major Species Affected Almost all species of freshwater and brackish water fishes can be infected, but certain fish species, such as mullets, snakehead and Indian major carps are particularly susceptible (Roberts et al. 1994). Geographic Distribution Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome was first reported in Japan and subsequently in Australia. Outbreaks have spread westward through Southeast and South Asia. The disease has also spread to Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and recently in Pakistan with major outbreaks reported. The pathology demonstrated by ulcerative mycosis (UM) has affected estuarine fish along the Atlantic coast of USA and is indistinguishable from EUS. Fig 1. EUS-affected bata (Labeo bata) with typical dermal ulceration on different parts of the body surface. Fig 2. Lesions causing destruction of muscles tissues near caudal peduncle with brown colored fungus like growth.
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