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Not AvailableArcobacterspecies are emerging food-borne and water-borne human pathogensassociated mostly with food animals and their environment. The present studywas aimed to isolateArcobacterspecies from fish, shellfish and coastal watersamples using two methods and to determine their genetic diversity. Of 201samples of fish, shellfish and water samples analysed, 66 (32 8%) samplesshowed the presence ofArcobacterDNA from bothArcobacterenrichmentbroth and Bolton broth. Arcobacters were isolated from 58 (87 8%) and 38(57 5%) ofArcobacterDNA-positive samples usingArcobacterblood agar andPreston blood agar, respectively.Arcobactersp. identified by biochemical testswere further analysed by a genus-specific PCR, followed by a multiplex-PCRand 16S rRNA-RFLP. From both the methods, four differentArcobacterspeciesnamelyArcobacter butzleri, Arcobacter skirrowii, Arcobacter mytiliandArcobacter defluviiwere isolated, of whichA. butzleriwas the predominantspecies. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR fingerprintanalysis revealed that the arcobacters isolated in this study were genetically verydiverse and no specific genotype was found associated with a specific source(seafood or water). Since pathogenic arcobacters are not known to be naturalinhabitants of coastal marine environment, identifying the sources ofcontamination will be crucial for effective management of this problem.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableArcobacter butzleri is an emerging pathogen isolated from animals, food and the environment. In this study, 147 A. butzleri isolated from seafood and the coastal environment were tested for the presence of ten putative virulence genes (cadF, cj1349, ciaB, mviN, pldA, tlyA, hecA, hecB, irgA, iroE) and antimicrobial susceptibilities. Majority of the isolates harbored mviN (100%), cj1349 (97.2%), ciaB (95.9%), tlyA (91.8%), pldA (91.1%) and cadF (89.7%). Lower detection rates were observed for hecA (10.8%), hecB (19%), iroE (12.9%) and irgA (17.6%). Three A. butzleri isolates harbored all ten virulence genes. The occurrence of cj1349, ciaB, pldA, tlyA and hecA genes was significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) among the isolates from different sources. All (100%) A. butzleri isolates were resistant to vancomycin, cephalothin, cefoxitin and sulphamethizole and susceptible to polymyxin- B, kanamycin, streptomycin, gentamicin, tetracycline and imipenem. Resistance to clinically important anti- biotics such as cefotaxime (99.3%), ceftazidime (87.7%), nalidixic acid (70.7%), ampicillin (72.1%), ertapenem and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (41.9%) was observed in A. butzleri from the environment. The isolates were highly susceptible to norfloxacin (97.9%) and colistin (97.2%), followed by ciprofloxacin (88.4%), meropenem (74.8%), chloramphenicol (72.7%) and erythromycin (69.3%). A. butzleri from different sources were not sig- nificantly different with respect to their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Multidrug resistance was observed in 66 (81.4%) isolates from fish, 29 (72.5%) isolates from shellfish and 17 (65.3%) isolates from coastal water. A. butzleri harboring virulence genes and resistance to multiple antibiotics found in seafood could be a potential health risk to seafood handlers and consumers. Continuous monitoring of seafood for potentially pathogenic A. butzleri is important to understand the evolution of antibiotic resistance in this emerging food pathogen and to determine the antimicrobial therapy regimen in the event of food-borne A. butzleri infections.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableBesides Agriculture, Fish farming is one of the main occupations in the North-Eastern state of Assam. 10.5% of the geographical area is occupied by surface water bodies, in which 6503 sq km is held by the river systems including the mighty Brahmaputra and 1748 sq km by natural wetlands including seasonal and permanent waterlogged, marshy areas and both natural and man-made reservoirs, ponds and tanks of size more than 2.5 ha. There has been a tremendous increase in production, from 1.90 lakh tones in 2007-08 to 3.06 lakh in 2016-17. The state has shown 1.58 times increase in fish production from 2005 to 2017 which is higher than the country’s increase in production during the same period. The fish seed production of Assam is 5678 million nos. for the 2015-16 year. Although the state is endowed with abundant water bodies, it continues to reel from shortfall of fish supply. The present production is 2.94 lakh tonnes. However, the demand is 3.36 lakh tonnes a year. The optimal utilization of the available water resources in the state can boost fish production tremendously. Another solution to augment fish production can be by replacing traditional methods with scientific techniques. Spreading awareness and extending assistance to the fish farmers will further enhance the production.Not Availabl