Washington State University's (WSU's) College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has been at the forefront of advancing fish health, disease diagnostics, and research for over 30 years to meet the expanding need of aquaculture, public aquaria, and maintenance of wild fish stocks. From monitoring healthy production systems to tracking and understanding disease spread in wild fish, WSU has applied veterinary medicine to animals in freshwater and marine environments.
Promoting Food Security
Over the last 50 years, global production of fish and seafood has quadrupled, with the average person doubling the amount of seafood they eat. Increased demand and complexity of trade and production come with increased need for veterinary engagement in aquatic animal management, disease diagnosis, and treatment to ensure seafood security. Because fish production within the Pacific Northwest (PNW) supplies the nation and world, WSU's CVM provides essential fish health monitoring and pathogen surveillance in collaboration with field veterinarians. Veterinary diagnosticians working in the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians–accredited Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in WSU's CVM use cutting-edge technologies and diagnostic testing to ensure fish raised in facilities are healthy and meet the rigorous trade standards required for transport across the country and world. Accurate testing allows veterinarians that oversee or regulate these facilities to ensure the health of these populations and respond quickly to any problems that arise.
Responding to the Environment
Fish production and wild stock enhancement are challenged by infectious, nutritional, and metabolic diseases all exacerbated by ever-changing environmental conditions. Because of this complexity, rapid diagnosis is essential. Use of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight mass spectrometry quickly identifies aquatic bacterial pathogens causing outbreaks. Additionally, custom antimicrobial susceptibility testing panels are used to aid in understanding resistance patterns impacting treatment efficacy. As many aquatic animal pathogens are difficult to identify with traditional methods, we also employ next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect known or emerging aquatic pathogens.
Expanding Aquatic Research
A frequent barrier to preventing disease in fish is the lack of scientific literature characterizing diseases specific to fish that in turn interferes with the development of a response plan. By integrating the use of multiple testing modalities including pathology, traditional bacterial or viral culture, phenotypic identification, and sequencing of pathogens, the likelihood of pathogen identification is higher and a thorough assessment of pathogen traits can be performed. The use of NGS is especially valuable, allowing for the development of improved molecular diagnostic assays to quantify pathogen load (eg, quantitative PCR) and/or develop in situ probes to link suspected pathogens directly with lesions. This process has allowed us to understand the pathogenesis of disease and possible routes of transmission. In addition to the revolution of aquatic pathogen identification, NGS has allowed for exploration of molecular epidemiology including spread between locations or populations.
Washington State University veterinarian working with Pacific Steelhead salmon. To learn more, visit https://vetmed.wsu.edu/departments/veterinary-microbiology-and-pathology/aquatic-program/
Citation: American Journal of Veterinary Research 2025; 10.2460/ajvr.25.05.0160
Training the Next Generation
Veterinarians and post-DVM veterinary specialists are critical to assist aquaculture facilities rearing fish for seafood or restoration efforts under fluctuating environmental conditions. Therefore, opportunities for experience in aquatic animal health topics are essential for meeting the needs of the future. WSU's Veterinary students, residents, and graduate students participate in training opportunities that prepare them to meet the challenges described above, including aquatic animal health elective courses; the PNW Salmonid Veterinary Externship Program; residencies in anatomic pathology and microbiology; lectures, wet labs, field trips, and symposia offered by WSU's Aquatics Veterinary Medicine Club; and post-DVM graduate training in fish infectious diseases.
