Zoonotic disease pathogens in fish used for pedicure.

“Doctor” fish might not be such good doctors after all. These fish are used for the increasingly popular spa treatment called fish pedicures. During these sessions, spa patrons immerse their feet in water, allowing the live fish to feed on dead skin, mainly for cosmetic reasons.

The effect of octopaminergic compounds on the behaviour and transmission of Gyrodactylus.

Background: The high transmission potential of species belonging to the monogenean parasite genus Gyrodactylus, coupled with their high fecundity, allows them to rapidly colonise new hosts and to increase in number. One gyrodactylid, Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957, has been responsible for devastation of Altantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) populations in a number of Norwegian rivers.

Microgemma vivaresi n. sp. (Microsporidia, Tetramicridae), infecting liver and skeletal muscle of sea scorpions, Taurulus bubalis (Euphrasen 1786) (Osteichthyes, Cottidae), an inshore, littoral fish.

The ultrastructure of a new microsporidian species Microgemma vivaresi n. sp. causing liver cell xenoma formation in sea scorpions, Taurulus bubalis, is described.