MYCOBACTERIA IN AQUARIUM FISH: ARE FISH HANDLERS AWARE OF THEIR ZOONOTIC POTENTIAL?

Mycobacteria potentially pathogenic for humans are commonly present in aquarium fish sold in Slovenian pet shops. Mycobacterium marinum is the most important causative agent of skin mycobacteriosis in humans. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate, by means of a questionnaire, aquarium hobbyistsâ€™ and pet shop salespersonsâ€™ awareness of the health risks related to aquarium fish handling. A total of 198 participants took part in the study, 76.3% of these were aquarium hobbyists, and 23.7% were pet shop salespersons with up to 15 years of fish handling experience. About one third (35.8%) of all participants recognized that fish may be a source of infection for humans and that fish may contract tuberculosis. Fewer (24.4%) were aware of the fact that fish tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease. The vast majority of respondents were unfamiliar with the clinical manifestations of either fish tuberculosis or cutaneous mycobacteriosis in humans. Despite the generally acknowledged belief that aquarium water may pose a risk to human health, the respondentsâ€™ aquarium handling practices were surprising as the majority never used waterproof gloves. Several differences were revealed between the two groups of respondents. Pet shop salespersons were better educated on fish handling, and more were aware of the health risks linked to aquarium fish than aquarium hobbyists. The latter often perceived pet shop salespersons as relevant sources of information. However, overall awareness of the zoonotic potential of fish mycobacteria proved to be fairly low. Therefore, more effort should be made to increase the awareness of the role of mycobacteria in infections associated with exposure to aquarium fish. Key words: fish tank granuloma; fish tuberculosis; mycobacteria; questionnaire; zoonosis Â MIKOBAKTERIJE PRI AKVARIJSKIH RIBAH: ALI SE AKVARISTI ZAVEDAJO NJIHOVEGA ZOONOTSKGA POTENCIALA? Povzetek: Za ljudi potencialno patogene vrste mikobakterij so v Sloveniji sploAino prisotne pri akvarijskih ribah, ki so naprodaj v trgovinah z domaAimi ljubljenAki, med drugimi tudi vrsta Mycobacterium marinum, ki je najpomembnejAia povzroAiteljica koA¾ne mikobakterioze pri ljudeh. Namen raziskave je bil, s pomoAjo vpraAialnika, oceniti zavedanje ljubiteljskih akvaristov in prodajalcev v trgovinah z akvaristiAnim programom o zdravstvenih tveganjih, povezanih z rokovanjem z ribami. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 198 oseb, 76,3 % ljubiteljskih akvaristov in 23,7 % prodajalcev v trgovinah, ki so v povpreAju imeli do 15 let izkuAienj pri rokovanju z akvarijskimi ribami. PribliA¾no tretjina (35,8 %) sodelujoAih se je strinjala s trditvijo, da so ribe lahko vir okuA¾be za ljudi in da ribe lahko zbolijo za tuberkulozo. V manjAiem deleA¾u (24,4 %) so se sodelujoAi strinjali s trditvijo, da je ribja tuberkuloza zoonoza. Velika veAina anketirancev ni poznala kliniAnih znakov ribje tuberkuloze in koA¾ne mikobakterioze pri ljudeh. Kljub sploAino izraA¾enemu prepriAanju, da lahko voda iz akvarija predstavlja tveganje za zdravje ljudi, je bila sploAina praksa rokovanja z ribami presenetljiva, saj velika veAina sodelujoAih pri rokovanju z ribami nikoli ne uporablja vodoodpornih rokavic. Med obema skupinama anketirancev smo odkrili veA razlik. Prodajalci v trgovinah so bolj pouAeni o rokovanju z ribami in bolj ozaveAiAeni o zdravstvenih tveganjih povezanih z akvarijskimi ribami, kot ljubiteljski akvaristi. Slednji prodajalce dojemajo kot zaupanja vreden vir informacij. V sploAinem je ozaveAiAenost o zoonotskem potencialu mikobakterij pri akvarijskih ribah precej slaba, zato bi morali nameniti veA pozornosti ozaveAiAanju o vlogi mikobakterij pri okuA¾bah, povezanih z akvarijskimi ribami. KljuAne besede : koA¾na mikobakterioza; ribja tuberkuloza; mikobakterije; vpraAialnik; zoonoza