Abstract
In Malawi, fish is regarded as a cheapest source of animal proteins and other macronutrients. Recent epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) outbreaks reported in countries sharing Chobe-Zambezi river system like Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Republic of South Africa, have posed a major threat to fish production. Malawi’s biggest and important Shire River connects to Zambezi River and there is sharing of waters with Zambia during floods in some areas in north western Malawi. Active surveillance in Malawi was, therefore, conducted in four high risk areas to establish the presence or absence of EUS. Fish were inspected for EUS-like lesions by a trained surveillance team. No fish was found with EUS-like lesions. However, one Barbus paludinosus from Vwaza Marsh had a reddish and swollen caudal peduncle which after doing laboratory tissue squash did not show any evidence of fungal hyphae to suspect EUS but numerous inflammatory cells were seen. Key words: Barbus paludinosus, marsh, EUS, Aphanomyces invadans, sampling sites.  
Highlights
epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) is a seasonal epizootic condition caused by a fungal pathogen called Aphanomyces invadans listed in OIE (Office International des Epizooties) Aquatic Code as a notifiable pathogen (Yadav et al, 2014; Huchzermeyer et al, 2017)
One fish sample of B. paludinosus collected at Vwaza Marsh had reddish and swollen caudle peduncle (Figure 3)
In all the four sampling sites 0% of fish were found with mycotic granulomas suggestive of EUS
Summary
EUS is a seasonal epizootic condition caused by a fungal pathogen called Aphanomyces invadans listed in OIE (Office International des Epizooties) Aquatic Code as a notifiable pathogen (Yadav et al, 2014; Huchzermeyer et al, 2017). Recent outbreaks of emerging trans-boundary aquatic animal diseases notably EUS infection in the Zambezi river basin have posed potential threat to fish production from capture fisheries and aquaculture thereby affecting those that rely on fishing for income (Nsonga et al, 2013, Walakira, 2017; Huchzermeyer et al, 2017). EUS outbreaks threaten food security for subsistence fishers, fish farmers and subsequently people’s physical health, as fish is an important source of animal protein (Iberahim et al, 2018; Afzali et al, 2015). In case of an outbreak in Malawi, EUS will reduce the contribution of fish production to the economic growth even further and this will affect the majority of people’s livelihoods (Murphy et al, 2013; Kar, 2016).
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