A light and electron microscopic study of the agent of carp mucophilosis

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Abstract
The authors failed to detect algae or fungi in the gills of carp showing the typical clinical signs of mucophilosis. Electron microscopic examination showed the presence of rickettsia‐ or chlamydia‐like organisms, inside the characteristic mucophilus cysts. These organisms are believed to be the causative agents of mucophilosis. The organisms develop intracellularly in the gill epithelium and after several divisions give rise to mucophilus cysts 70–80 μm in diameter. The morphological and ultrastructural changes observed in the course of mucophilosis bear a striking resemblance to the cysts and cyst‐inducing causative agents responsible for epitheliocystis disease.