Ultraviolet radiation as disinfection for fish surgical tools

Ricardo Warren Walker

Chinook salmon are culturally, economically, and ecologically important species in the Pacific Northwest, USA. The development of hydropower in the Columbia and Snake Rivers has led to a decline in salmon numbers over the last 60 years. Thus, salmon in the Columbia River Basin have been put on the endangered species list leading to requirements that hydropower operators, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, mitigate negative effects caused by the dams. Biotelemetry is used to monitor the success and or failure of salmon as they pass up to 8 dams. In biotelemetry studies, fish are implanted with transmitters enabling researchers to track their behavior and migration and thus make inferences of the population as a whole. Surgery has been known to negatively affect fish and introduce bias in studies. In order to minimize these negative effects, surgery methods used to implant transmitters in fish are continuously being modified and improved to reduce tagging bias. This research focuses on the disinfection of surgery tools to minimize the transfer of pathogens among fish. More specifically the efficacy of ultraviolet radiation was tested on stab scalpels, sutures, forceps, and needle holders after exposure to four common salmonid pathogens (Aeromonas salmonicida, Flavobacterium psychrophilum, Renibacterium salmoninarum, and Saprolegnia parasitica). Also, tag retention and tissue reaction of fish were evaluated after sutures were exposed to ultraviolet radiation and iii used to close an incision made during tag implantation. The study showed that ultraviolet radiation is an effective disinfection method for some surgical tools. Tag retention was not affected by repeated exposures to ultraviolet radiation. Also, tissue reaction did not increase in incisions closed with sutures repeatedly exposed to ultraviolet radiation when compared to incisions closed with a factory sterile suture. However, we do not recommend using this method for tools that have overlapping parts, such as needle holders, or other structures that cannot be exposed directly to ultraviolet radiation.

Ultraviolet radiation as disinfection for fish surgical tools

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