Considering I have worked for the past 12 to 15 years in the pet trade I am
sure I have been exposed to this on MANY occaisions! I, too, know people who
have gotten this disease and it is not cured quickly, and by all accounts is
not fun. :-( I do what I can to stay reasonably safe, but I understand
that I risk infection sooner or later as long as I am employed in the pet
trade. My hands are in and out of all sorts of aquariums every day.
I guess it could be worse tho. I could be in a profession where I risk
getting killed instead of just sick. I could be a doctor/nurse or a
firefighter or in law enforcement, where they risk much more than just a
fish-TB infection... of course they get better pay, too, don't they? It is
all a matter of perspective, I guess.
All in all, I am much more concerned with exposure to bloodworms, as THAT
could kill me with my allergies to them. This is a much bigger fear for me,
personally, than fish-TB. I know you have even worse bloodworm allergies
than I do, Harro, so you can understand this I think.
As I said, I am as careful as I can be and still do my job. :-) Despite
the levity in my posts, I do not take this lightly, but it is a fact of my
job that I am at risk and I accept this.
Julie <'><
>From: "Harro.Hieronimus at t-online.de" <harro.hieronimus at t-online.de>
>Reply-To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
>To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: RE: [RML] Fish TB (Mycobacteriosis)
>Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 10:50:40 +0200
>
>I would not even put my hand in a tank with obviously TB infected fish!
>This disease is harmful to men and may cause severe damage if not cured
>in time (another reason not to use antibiotics in aquarism!). There has
>been a lot of information in an article a few years ago, published in
>FAMA or AFM, I can't remember exactly. I have contact to several dealers
>and learned that several already had a fish tb infection. It ended in
>most cases at least with a scar, and in one case antibiotics seem not to
>work sufficiently (maybe a stupid doctor, too, who does not know much
>about this disease). So be careful and use plastic gloves in an infected
>tank.
>
>Harro
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 03:13:09 +0200
>Subject: RE: [RML] Fish TB (Mycobacteriosis)
>From: "Julie Zeppieri" <bowluvr at hotmail.com>
>To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
>
> I think having a "comprehensive" piece of literature covering all
>aspects of
> this disease would be a good resource to have available to all out
>there,
> especially to Rainbowfish keepers. :-) I, for one, would
>appreciate your
> doing this.
> One can keep infected fish alive for many years with good care. I
>have found
> that if one does need to keep infected fish alive for whatever
>reason, that
> the tank they are in should have all of its own (dedicated) nets,
>buckets,
> siphons and other equipment, and hands should be washed after
>working the
> tank so as not to spread the disease elsewhere.
> Julie <
> >From: "blueredorganic"
> >Reply-To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
> >To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
> >Subject: [RML] Fish TB (Mycobacteriosis)
> >Date: Sun, 29 May 2005 22:54:36 -0000
> >
> >Dear Rainbowfish lovers,
> >
> >I'm not sure how posting to this group works, so I'm going to be
> >brief.
> >
> >After 15 years of having Rainbowfish with few problems, all 3 of my
> >tanks are now infected with Fish TB. I assume its from some fish I
> >added to one tank last year. Believe me, this disease is no fun.
>It
> >Rainbowfish appear to be highly susceptible and what I've read on
> >Internet suggests that many commercial stocks are now infected.
>Last
> >time I visited my local aquarium store, half of the fish had a few
> >symptoms ... gill cover erosion, sluggishness, swollen bodies, etc.
> >
> >Symptoms don't appear for months, so even careful quarantining may
> >not help. There is no cure other than to tear down tanks and start
> >over.
> >
> >While poor care may accentuate the disease in infected fish, poor
> >care will not cause it. The organisms that cause the disease
> >(pathogenic strains of Mycobacterium marinum and M. fortinum) must
>be
> >first be brought into the tank.
> >
> >I will be glad to write a comprehensive article for this group on
> >what I have learned about Mycobacteriosis. I believe that every
> >person in this group should know more about this disease that
> >threatens our Rainbowfish. This disease is also transmitted to
> >humans (e.g., "fish tank syndrome".
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >--- In r_m_l at yahoogroups.com, "Julie Zeppieri" wrote:
> > > It has never stopped me. :-) As with everything else in life,
> >you should
> > > be an informed consumer and do some research before you
>purchase.
> >Then, take
> > > good care of what you buy. Goes a long, long way in keeping
>things
> >fun IMHO.
> > > :-)
> > >
> > > Julie <
> > >
> > >
> > > >From: ampullariidae at c...
> > > >Reply-To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
> > > >To: r_m_l at yahoogroups.com
> > > >Subject: Re: [RML] Fish TB?
> > > >Date: Fri, 6 May 2005 17:57:12 EDT
> > > >
> > > >Do you think the fear of rainbowfish getting TB would warrant
>not
> >keeping
> > > >them? I have a large aquarium collection and I don't need an
> >epidemic...
> > > >
> > > >Thanks,
> > > >Andrew
> >
> >