Determinants of genetic diversity, multidrug resistance, and virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from aquaculture fish in Central Iraq

Description

Majida Malik Meteab Alshammari and colleagues investigate, in a 2026 study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa infecting farmed fish in Central Iraq. The bacterium is a survivor, often resistant to many drugs and armed with virulence factors. Its presence threatens fish health, farm output, and consumers. From six fish farm sites, mixing lake farms and floating cages, the team sampled 158 fish. They confirmed the species by gene sequencing and tested drug response, nine virulence genes, five resistance genes, and genetic relatedness.

Sixty-two samples, 39.24 percent of the total, proved positive. Every isolate resisted tetracycline and cefuroxime, and 92 percent were resistant to many drugs. Over 40 percent carried all nine attack genes at once. Fingerprinting sorted the isolates into six clusters that matched farms. That pattern suggests bacteria circulate within farms rather than traveling between them. The authors read the findings as a call for farm-level biosecurity and antibiotic discipline in Iraqi fish farming.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13313888