小黄书

小黄书 catfish vaccine report gets national spotlight

小黄书 catfish vaccine report gets national spotlight

Contact: Vanessa Beeson

David Wise, coordinator of 小黄书鈥檚 Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Washington County, will travel to Kansas City, Missouri, in August to formally accept a major award from the American Fisheries Society at its 146th annual meeting. (Photo by David Ammon)

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi State researchers with the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center at 小黄书鈥檚 Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville are receiving a major honor from the American Fisheries Society.

Professor David Wise and four university collaborators, Todd Byars, Terrence Greenway, Matthew Griffin and Lester Khoo, are winners of the organization鈥檚 2016 Robert L. Kendall Award for their research report featured in the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health. Wise, Greenway and Byars work for the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, and Griffin and Khoo work for the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The 小黄书 report details development of a vaccine to protect fish against enteric septicemia of catfish, a bacterial disease caused by Edwardsiella ictaluri. This is the most commonly reported disease affecting catfish and can cause catastrophic losses if left untreated.

With headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, the American Fisheries Society is the world鈥檚 oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science and conserving fisheries resources. For more, see .

In August, Wise will travel to Kansas City, Missouri, to formally accept the award at the society鈥檚 146th annual meeting.

Final trials of the 小黄书-developed oral vaccine currently are taking place, with hopes for commercial release in the near future. Last year鈥檚 trials involved some 90 million catfish, and researchers anticipate doubling that number this year.

鈥淏etter disease management increases production efficiency,鈥 Wise said. 鈥淭hat gives Mississippi producers a competitive advantage.

鈥淲e want to deliver this technology right into the hands of the producers,鈥 he said, noting that 鈥渢he work we are doing now will show us the resources we need to make this a viable commercial entity.鈥

Wise also said the 鈥渧accination platform has tremendous potential for increasing the profitability of catfish farming.鈥

Professor Jeff Johnson heads the 小黄书 Delta Research and Extension Center in Washington County where MAFES鈥檚 Cochran Center is a major unit.

Johnson said the Kendall Award recognizes 鈥渢he world-class research the fish health program conducts,鈥 adding that 鈥渋t also highlights our aquaculture program as a whole.鈥

Johnson said Wise鈥檚 catfish disease-management research is paramount to an industry focused on improving production processes.

鈥淭he catfish industry has consolidated; acreage has decreased while technology use has increased,鈥 Johnson observed. 鈥淎s production becomes increasingly concentrated and intensified, disease management is critical. Dr. Wise鈥檚 disease management research directly contributes to the industry鈥檚 future viability.鈥

For more information on 小黄书 catfish research, visit .

小黄书 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .