The impact of co-infections on fish: a review

International audienceAbstractCo-infections are very common in nature and occur when hosts are infected by two or more different pathogens either by simultaneous or secondary infections so that two or more infectious agents are active together in the same host. Co-infections have a fundamental effect and can alter the course and the severity of different fish diseases. However, co-infection effect has still received limited scrutiny in aquatic animals like fish and available data on this subject is still scarce. The susceptibility of fish to different pathogens could be changed during mixed infections causing the appearance of sudden fish outbreaks. In this review, we focus on the synergistic and antagonistic interactions occurring during co-infections by homologous or heterologous pathogens. We present a concise summary about the present knowledge regarding co-infections in fish. More research is needed to better understand the immune response of fish during mixed infections as these could have an important impact on the development of new strategies for disease control programs and vaccination in fish

Reorganisation of the superfamily Lepocreadioidea Odhner, 1905 based on an inferred molecular phylogeny

Utilising phylogenetic estimates inferred from molecular sequences, the superfamily Lepocreadioidea Odhner, 1905 is re-organised, with the major family, the Lepocreadiidae, split into three separate families, the Lepocreadiidae Odhner, 1905, Aephnidiogenidae Yamaguti, 1934 and Lepidapedidae Yamaguti, 1958. These families have been widely recognised as subfamilies. Also recognised are the families Enenteridae Yamaguti, 1958, Gorgocephalidae Manter, 1966 and Gyliauchenidae Fukui, 1929. The constituent genera of these families are listed, some relying on molecular data and others on morphological similarity to molecularly-typed genera. Nine genera have not been placed in families and are considered incertae sedis