Aquacultured channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) were evaluated for the presence of human pathogenic bacteria. Fresh catfish fillets procured from three catfish processors in the southeastern United States during the four annual seasons (e.g., summer, fall, winter, and fall) were screened for selected human pathogens. At each sampling time point, 20 freshly processed catfish fillets were randomly selected from each processor during each season. Five catfish fillets were randomly selected for aerobic plate counts and all 20 fillets were screened for five pathogenic bacteria viz. Campylobacter jejuni/coli , Escherichia coli O157:H7, Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae , Plesiomonas shigelloides , and Vibrio cholerae . There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the aerobic plate counts due to differences in unit processing operations and processing season. C. jejuni/coli , E. coli O157:H7 and K. pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae were not isolated. Only P. shigelloides and V. cholerae were isolated during the warm weather.
Keywords: Catfish; pathogenic bacteria; processing.