Development of a polyclonal antibody Edwardsiella ictaluri serum for diagnosis of Enteric Septicemia of Catfish (ESC) in Patin Catfish (Pangasianodon hypopthalmus)

Enteric Septicemia of Catfish (ESC), caused by Edwarsiella ictaluri , has been considered a major bacterial disease in catfish, including Patin (Pangasionodon hypophthalmus), causing economic losses. Monitoring activities and identification of bacterial disease are performed using a series of biochemical tests, including Gram stain, Ryu, motility, and glucose; the test is at a certain temperature, requires specific conditions and facilities, and takes a long time. We developed a method based on antigen-antibody reactions to diagnose the disease, which provides more specific/accurate results in a shorter time to be used as a more flexible and rapid "diagnosis tool" as an anticipatory step in disease control. The development of antibody-serum is based on the specific character (specificity) of bacteria for antigen and performed according to standard methods using rabbits as test animals. The process starts with a mass culture of E. ictaluri , antigen in-activation, priming and booster injection, bleeding, and deriving polyclonal antibody serum. This diagnostic tool is expected to identify the target bacteria within 24 h, indicated by agglutination in the antigen-antibody reaction called the serum antibodies method. In this research, we produced serum, and ready to use, a 0.05-0.1 mL of serum-containing antibody is reacted with the bacterial isolate suspension.