Intestinal lesions in grasscarpCtenopharyngodon idella(Valenciennes) infected withBalantidium ctenopharyngodonisChen.

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Abstract
The protozoanBalantidium ctenopharyngodonisis a: common intestinal commensal of two‐summer and older grasscarp, hut it may occasionally become pathogenic under the influence of certain predisposing factors. Outbreaks of enteritis complicated by excess multiplication of balantidia occurred among the two‐summer and three‐summer grasscarp stock in two pond farms during the autumn and winter. Fishes in the terminal stage of disease showed hyperaemia and inflammation of the mucosa over the entire gut. In the posterior 10–12 cm of the gut a dense creamy exudate coated the mucosa. Large numbers of balantidia were found in the exudate and between the mucosal folds there were excoriations, the size of a pin‐head, obviously caused by the parasites. Histological examination revealed a loss of superficial epithelium and ulcerations in the grooves between folds.