Clinical Case Study of Non-infectious Dropsy in Koi

Abstract

Dropsy is one of the clinical symptoms of the disease that is commonly found in fish. These symptoms are often associated with the incidence of infection with microorganisms. The study aims to report the dropsy case where no indications were found due to microorganism infection. An experimental koi fish in an aquarium had symptoms of pineapple-like scales with a previous clinical history of koi herpesvirus (KHV) infection. Histopathological examination was carried out by collecting all organs and staining them with hematoxylin-eosin. A molecular microbiological examination was conducted to detect the presence of koi herpesvirus (KHV), iridovirus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Francisella spp., and Aeromonas sp. by collecting samples of gills, kidney, and aspirated fluid from the coelomic cavity. The histopathological examination showed abnormalities in muscle, gills, kidney, heart, spleen, intestine, liver, pancreas, brain, and eye. However, no bacterial colony or viral inclusion body was found in the examined organs. The findings align with the PCR examination, which showed negative results for koi herpesvirus (KHV), iridovirus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Francisella spp., and Aeromonas sp... This condition indicates a suspected cause of dropsy which is suffered due to kidney malfunction, which causes osmolarity disturbances and ascites in the coelomic cavity.