vii
Pref ace
This sixth edition of Bacterial Fish Pathogens is the successor to the original version, fi rst published by Ellis Horwood Limited in 1987, which was planned to fi ll
the need for an up-to-date comprehensive text on the biological aspects of the bacterial taxa which cause disease in fi sh. In those days, interest focused largely on bacterial kidney disease, the Cytophaga -like bacteria (CLBs), furunculosis and vibriosis
(caused by Vibrio anguillarum). Over the intervening years, we have witnessed
changes in impetus as new methodologies, notably involving molecular biology,
have been developed. Interest in vaccines has been overtaken by probiotics and
plant products. In terms of the number of publications, Aeromonas hydrophila is the
pathogen of the moment. The impetus to prepare a sixth edition stemmed initially
from discussion with the publisher when it became apparent that the book was particularly well used (there have been >19,000 downloads since the publication of the
fi fth edition in 2012). Since publishing the fi fth edition in 2012, there has been only
a comparatively few new bacterial fi sh pathogens described, but numerous publications deal with diagnosis, pathogenicity and especially control. Consequently with
all the new publications, we considered that it is timely to prepare a new edition .
Thinking back to the preparation of the fi rst edition, it is mind numbing how the
mechanics of publication have changed. For the fi rst edition, we spent ages in libraries, using interlibrary loans; pouring over paper copies of journals, books and
monographs; making handwritten notes; and preparing text for typing [on a typewriter – corrections led to use of white-out or the typing of replacement pages]. Line
drawings were done using a drawing board, Rotring pens, set squares/French curves
and stencils. Photographs were developed in a dark room and could be hit or miss in
terms of quality. Now, we have access to an even wider range of journals electronically, which have been accessed from the laptop computer via a wireless Internet
connection. Weeks of waiting for interlibrary loans from around the globe did not
even feature during the initial research phase of the fi fth or sixth editions. Because
of the extensive new information published since the start of the millennium, we
have been selective and, in particular, have once again condensed details of the
pathology of the diseases, because there are excellent texts already available, which
cover detailed aspects of the pathological conditions. For some diseases that have
Pref ace
This sixth edition of Bacterial Fish Pathogens is the successor to the original version, fi rst published by Ellis Horwood Limited in 1987, which was planned to fi ll
the need for an up-to-date comprehensive text on the biological aspects of the bacterial taxa which cause disease in fi sh. In those days, interest focused largely on bacterial kidney disease, the Cytophaga -like bacteria (CLBs), furunculosis and vibriosis
(caused by Vibrio anguillarum). Over the intervening years, we have witnessed
changes in impetus as new methodologies, notably involving molecular biology,
have been developed. Interest in vaccines has been overtaken by probiotics and
plant products. In terms of the number of publications, Aeromonas hydrophila is the
pathogen of the moment. The impetus to prepare a sixth edition stemmed initially
from discussion with the publisher when it became apparent that the book was particularly well used (there have been >19,000 downloads since the publication of the
fi fth edition in 2012). Since publishing the fi fth edition in 2012, there has been only
a comparatively few new bacterial fi sh pathogens described, but numerous publications deal with diagnosis, pathogenicity and especially control. Consequently with
all the new publications, we considered that it is timely to prepare a new edition .
Thinking back to the preparation of the fi rst edition, it is mind numbing how the
mechanics of publication have changed. For the fi rst edition, we spent ages in libraries, using interlibrary loans; pouring over paper copies of journals, books and
monographs; making handwritten notes; and preparing text for typing [on a typewriter – corrections led to use of white-out or the typing of replacement pages]. Line
drawings were done using a drawing board, Rotring pens, set squares/French curves
and stencils. Photographs were developed in a dark room and could be hit or miss in
terms of quality. Now, we have access to an even wider range of journals electronically, which have been accessed from the laptop computer via a wireless Internet
connection. Weeks of waiting for interlibrary loans from around the globe did not
even feature during the initial research phase of the fi fth or sixth editions. Because
of the extensive new information published since the start of the millennium, we
have been selective and, in particular, have once again condensed details of the
pathology of the diseases, because there are excellent texts already available, which
cover detailed aspects of the pathological conditions. For some diseases that have