title: Fin and gill biopsies are effective nonlethal samples for detection of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus genotype IVb.
abstract: Nonlethal sampling is becoming a common method to diagnose fish diseases, especially with the availability of molecular testing. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a viral pathogen of finfish distributed worldwide. Although VHSV has been known to occur in some parts of the world for decades, a new genotype, IVb, recently emerged in the Laurentian Great Lakes of northeastern North America. Golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas; Mitchill, 1814) and fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas; Rafinesque, 1820) were exposed to VHSV-IVb doses between 10(2) and 10(6) plaque forming units per fish by intraperitoneal injection at 10°C. Both species experienced significant mortality after exposure, ranging from 38% to 52% in golden shiners and from 35% to 95% in fathead minnows. In golden shiners, a fin or gill sample was somewhat less sensitive at detecting VHSV-IVb by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) than a pooled organ sample (consisting of liver, anterior and posterior kidney, spleen, and heart), however the relative sensitivity increased when a fin and gill sample were tested in parallel. In fathead minnows, a fin or gill sample tested alone or in parallel was relatively more sensitive than a pooled organ sample by qRT-PCR. Specificity was 100% for all sample types in both species. The results suggest that fin and gill biopsies are useful tools to test for VHSV in live fish.
authors: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. erc58@cornell.edu
authors: Emily R
authors: ER
authors: Cornwell
authors: Chelsea A
authors: CA
authors: Bellmund
authors: Geoffrey H
authors: GH
authors: Groocock
authors: Po Ting
authors: PT
authors: Wong
authors: Katherine L
authors: KL
authors: Hambury
authors: Rodman G
authors: RG
authors: Getchell
authors: Paul R
authors: PR
authors: Bowser
mesh_terms: D058500:Animal Fins / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D003530:Cyprinidae; D005838:Genotype; D005880:Gills / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D029141:Novirhabdovirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018353:Rhabdoviridae Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity