In recent years the Selsey fishermen have found in creasing numbers of sleepy and dead crabs among edible crab (Cancer pagarus)<\/em> catch in the sea off Selsey prompting Cefas to investigate.<\/p>\n
A previously unidentified paramoebiasis, Janickina feisti<\/em><\/a>, was discovered in the Selsey crabs. This resulted in extensive investigations by Dr. Kelly Bateman, Crustacean Health Theme Lead, Cefas. Following is a summary of findings:<\/p>\n
Where the organism came from still remains a mystery. These are opportunistic pathogens and there will be a bigger story associated with them. The findings could be related to events such as climate change; invasive species; habitat change, but the origin of the pathogen isn\u2019t known. It is unlikely to be related to specific events.<\/p>\n
This is the first time the pathogen has been observed in edible crab tissues. Much more work is needed before anything more specific is known.<\/p>\n
The findings were written up in a peer reviewed paper and a national search for further presence of Janickina feisti <\/em><\/a>is underway.<\/p>\n
Follow this link to read or download the Cefas Janikina feisti<\/em><\/a> paper.<\/p>\n
An online version can be found here: \u00a0Full text in pdf format<\/a><\/p>\n