By Floyd French
Observer Reporter
(Basseterre, St. Kitts) – A bacterial infection has been found to be the cause of a recent fish kill in Federation waters, according to government officials.
The Streptococcus iniae, a bacterium affecting fish, has been identified as the cause.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patrick Martin said the public only needed to be alert, not alarmed.
“I’m happy to report that no case of human infection has been reported in St. Kitts. Nonetheless, a pathogen in our fish stock causes us to be on the alert,” said Dr. Martin said.
He emphasised that the local manner of food preparation wards off cases of human infection through eating fish.
“The way in which we steam, boil and bake, the temperature therein goes up above 70 C or 160 F which is the threshold temperature for killing most micro-organisms in fish, poultry and meat,” reiterated Dr. Martin said.
The Chief Medical Officer expressed concerns about barbequing, which he said can sometimes look cooked on the outside but might not be cook throughout. He urged the public to practice cleanliness and cook food thoroughly to guard against infection.
According to Dr. Martin, infection is possible if the bacteria enter the body through broken skin. He said it would cause a skin disease, cellulitis, which might spread into the bone. He urged proper handling of fish and food in general.
Senior Fisheries Officer Mr. Joseph Simmonds said that fishermen had been very cooperative since the killing was reported and asked that they report any further occurrences of dead fish. He said samples for the preliminary testing also came from Nevisian fishermen through their local fisheries department.
Research Associate at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, named Streptococcus iniae as the cause of the fish kill and said that an independent laboratory in Canada supported their preliminary finding. He said there is hardly anything local authorities can do to prevent outbreaks so he urged the general public to be vigilant of the quality of fish they consume.
