title: Fish biologics: vaccine standards for sport fisheries and commercial aquaculture.
abstract: Biologics for serodiagnostic identification of fish diesease agents and for determination of efficacy and potency of fish bacterins are now being offered on a limited basis to governmental hatchery biologists and commercial aquaculture farms by the National Fish Health Research Laboratory - Leetown. Difficulties arise when biologics are used for determining standard parameters for fish bacterins because there may be variations in the fishes' immune response due to population differences or effects of temperature and pollutants in the aquatic environment. The passive hemolytic plaque assay and passive hemagglutination tests are used to determine efficacy and potency of bacterins delivered by different routes and among batches of bacterins against fish disease agents of Aeromonas salmonicida (furunculosis) and Yersinia ruckeri (redmouth). The kinetics of the immune response with a defined population held in a standardized environment is established. We are presently recommending the development of a rainbow trout strain registry so consistency can be maintained for the standardization of biologics for fishes.
mesh_terms: D000333:Aeromonas / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000592:standards*; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005399:Fishes / Q000276:immunology*; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D014337:Trout / Q000276:immunology; D015007:Yersinia / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines