How does mycobacteriosis affect striped bass in the Bay?
In infected striped bass, mycobacteriosis causes inflammation, tissue destruction and formation of scar tissue in one or more organs. • The first signs of infection usually show up in internal organs such as the spleen and kidney. • Small, grayish-white nodules called granulomas form in an attempt to stop the infection. As more granulomas form, the striped bass’s normal organ tissues are lost to scar tissue. • Some infected striped bass also have shallow, reddened or dark-colored skin ulcers. (Not all skin lesions on striped bass are caused by mycobacteriosis.) Mycobacteriosis has been called a “wasting disease” because it causes striped bass to slowly lose body mass and significant amounts of weight. Mycobacteriosis was first diagnosed in the Bay in 1997. Since that time, ongoing surveys have found that as many as 60 percent of striped bass in the Maryland portion of the Bay are infected with mycobacteriosis. In the Virginia portion of the Bay, mycobacteria (mostly M. shottsii) were f
