Mateus Cardoso-Guimarães

Recently, a strain of Streptococcus agalactiae serotype Ia sequence type 7 clonal complex 1 (SaIa ST7 CC1) has emerged in Latin American tilapia aquaculture as an international threat. This study evaluated outbreaks of acute streptococcosis occurring between 2021 and 2025 on commercial Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) farms in six Latin American countries, aiming to integrate molecular, clinical, pathological, and environmental data. In total, 360 moribund or recently dead fish at various production stages (larvae/fry, pre-grow-out, and grow-out) were examined, and 25 S. agalactiae isolates were serotyped and subjected to real-time PCR analysis, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), virulence and antimicrobial resistance gene profiling, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. All isolates belonged to SaIa and shared the same ST7 CC1 MLST profile, forming a highly homogeneous cluster with reference SaIa ST7 CC1 strains previously isolated from tilapia farms in Asia. These results are consistent with the regional spread of a single clonal line. At the larval and fry stages, SaIa ST7 CC1 was associated with hyperacute septicemia, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and frequent intestinal intussusception, whereas in pre-grow-out and grow-out fish, neurological signs were more prominent, followed by ocular signs, systemic hemorrhages, and coelomic lesions. Histopathological examination showed profuse colonization of the brain, spleen, liver, and intestine by Gram-positive cocci, accompanied by marked acute circulatory and inflammatory lesions and few chronic granulomatous responses, consistent with a rapidly progressing, highly aggressive infectious process. All outbreaks occurred during extended periods of warm water (>32 °C), with large day–night thermal gradients and reduced dissolved oxygen, suggesting that thermal stress may exacerbate disease expression in affected systems. All SaIa ST7 CC1 strains exhibited phenotypic susceptibility to florfenicol and amoxicillin, whereas 84% (21/25) and 100% (25/25) exhibited intermediate susceptibility to oxytetracycline and enrofloxacin, respectively. In total, 5 of the 21 isolates (23.8%) with intermediate susceptibility to oxytetracycline carried tetracycline resistance genes (tetM, tetO). These findings identify SaIa ST7 CC1 as a clinically significant emerging threat associated with thermally facilitated and geographically expanding streptococcosis in tilapia production in Latin America. Immediate priorities include screening imported broodstock using MLST or whole-genome sequencing (WGS), harmonized regional molecular surveillance, climate-adaptive farm management practices, prudent antimicrobial use, and serotype-matched vaccination and breeding strategies that improve both disease and heat resilience.

Recently, a strain of Streptococcus agalactiae serotype Ia sequence type 7 clonal complex 1 (SaIa ST7 CC1) has emerged in Latin American tilapia aquaculture as an international threat. This study evaluated outbreaks of acute streptococcosis occurring between 2021 and 2025 on commercial Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) farms located in six Latin American countries, with an aim to combine molecular, clinical, pathological and environmental data. In total, 360 moribund or recently dead fish at various production stages (larvae/fry, pre grow-out and grow out) were examined, and 25 S. agalactiae isolates were serotyped, subjected to real time PCR analysis multilocus sequence typing (MLST), virulence and antimicrobial resistance gene profiling and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. All isolates belonged to SaIa and had the same ST7 CC1 MLST profile, which created a highly homogeneous cluster that grouped with reference SaIa ST7 CC1 strains previously isolated from tilapia farms in Asia. These results are consistent with the regional spread of a single clonal line. At larval and fry stage, SaIa ST7 CC1 was associated with hyperacute septicemia, gastrointestinal hemorrhage and frequent intestinal intussusception; while in pre grow out and grow out fish neurological signs were more prominent followed by ocular signs, systemic hemorrhages and coelomic lesions. Histopathological examination showed profuse colonization of brain, spleen, liver, and intestine by Gram positive cocci accompanied by significant acute circulatory and inflammatory lesions and few chronic granulomatous responses consistent with a fast-progressing high aggressive infectious process. All outbreaks occurred during extended episodes of hot water (>32°C) with large day–night thermal gradients and reduced dissolved oxygen, suggesting that thermal stress may exacerbate disease expression in systems affected. All SaIa ST7 CC1 strains exhibited phenotypic susceptibility to florfenicol and amoxicillin, but 84% (21/25) and 100% (25/25) of them exhibited intermediate susceptibility to oxytetracycline and enrofloxacin, respectively. Five of the 21 isolates (23,8%) with intermediate susceptibility to oxytetracycline carried tetracycline resistance genes (tetM, tetO). These findings identify SaIa ST7 CC1 as a clinically relevant threat of emerging thermally facilitated and geographically expanded streptococcosis for tilapia production in Latin America. Immediate priorities include screening of imported broodstock using MLST or whole genome sequencing, harmonized regional molecular surveillance, climate adaptive farm management practices, prudent antimicrobial use and serotype matched vaccination and breeding strategies that improve both disease- as well as heat-resilience.

Brazil is one of the world’s leading producers of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. However, the industry faces a major challenge in terms of infectious diseases, as at least five new pathogens have been formally described in the last five years. Aeromonas species are Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria that are often described as fish pathogens causing Motile Aeromonas Septicemia (MAS). In late December 2022, an epidemic outbreak was reported in farmed Nile tilapia in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, characterized by clinical signs and gross pathology suggestive of MAS. The objective of this study was to isolate, identify, and characterize in vitro and in vivo the causative agent of this epidemic outbreak. The bacterial isolates were identified as Aeromonas veronii based on the homology of 16S rRNA (99.9%), gyrB (98.9%), and the rpoB gene (99.1%). A. veronii showed susceptibility only to florfenicol, while it was resistant to the other three antimicrobials tested, oxytetracycline, enrofloxacin, and amoxicillin. The lowest florfenicol concentration capable of inhibiting bacterial growth was ≤0.5 µg/mL. The phenotypic resistance of the A. veronii isolate observed for quinolones and tetracycline was genetically confirmed by the presence of the qnrS2 (colE plasmid) and tetA antibiotic-resistant genes, respectively. A. veronii isolate was highly pathogenic in juvenile Nile tilapia tested in vivo, showing a mortality rate ranging from 3 to 100% in the lowest (1.2 × 10⁴) and highest (1.2 × 10⁸) bacterial dose groups, respectively. To our knowledge, this study would constitute the first report of highly pathogenic and multidrug-resistant A. veronii associated with outbreaks and high mortality rates in tilapia farmed in commercial net cages in Brazil.