ABSTRACT

A study was conducted to identify the bacterial populations and water quality in lake water and in some organs of cultured fishes Oreochromis mossambicus, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala and Cyprinus carpio in a freshwater Bathi lake to evaluate the public health aspects associated with the consumption of fishes. Among the organs the maximum bacterial load was found in skin followed by gills and intestine. The enteric bacteria isolated from the freshly caught fish as well as in water were found to belong to 9 genera involving a total of 11 species. In general, the bacteria isolated from fish samples appeared to be very similar to those obtained from water. Amongst the various bacteria present in the fishes, E. coli and P. aeruginosa contributed the most in all the four fish species. In the water also, the most dominant bacterial species was same as in fishes. Thus, there appears to be a close correlation between the bacteria in water and the organs of fishes with E. coli was dominant followed by P. aeruginosa in all the four types of fishes. The presence of a large number of enteric pathogenic bacterial species in the lake suggests the need for following strict hygienic methods during the processing of fish to prevent humans from getting diseases. Keywords: Bathi lake, Bacteria, Indian major carps, fish, Water quality
Publication date: 01/06/2020

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2020/June/MS_IJBPAS_2020_5086.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2020/9.6.5086