Mycobacterium marinum infection in Caviar fishes and fisherman's in a Caspian Sea Province in North of Iran

Mycobacterium marinum is the etiologic agent of fish tank granuloma in human. Determination of the fish tank granuloma in Fishermen and Mycobacterium marinum infection in Caviar fishes in Ashorade, in south east Caspian Sea were our objectives. Any suspected lesions in 387 subjects of Fishermen and 113 autopsy samples from gills of fish of Caviar were obtained and culture in Lowenstein Jensen media. The mycobacterial species were determined by conventional biochemical tests. No fish tank granuloma was proved in human, but 11 (9.73%) strains of Mycobacteria were isolated from Caviar fishes, that only 2 strains (1.76%) belong to M. marinum. © 2006 Asian Network for Scientific Information