Publication Abstract

The emergence of koi herpesvirus and its significance to European aquaculture

The emergence of koi herpesvirus and its significance to European aquaculture

O.L.M.Haenen, K.Way, S.M. Bergmann and E.Ariel

With the expansion of the European Community (EC) towards the East, the constitution of the aquaculture industry in the EC will change, and along with it the type of fish diseases to be encountered. Until now the EC network of national fish disease laboratories have focused mainly on diseases of salmonids. With the inclusion of Eastern European countries, and more intensive and extensive pond culture of carp and other fish species, we can expect an increase in the proportion of disease problems occurring especially in cyprinids on both sides of the accession line. As a preparation for the necessary carp disease diagnosis, the Community Reference Laboratory (CRL) for Fish Diseases and the UK National Reference Laboratory (NRL) CEFAS in Weymouth organised a workshop on diseases of carp attended by all of the EC NRL's for Fish Diseases in June 2003. One of the topics of major concern at the workshop was Koi Herpesvirus (KHV).

KHV causes severe disease and mortalities in all ages of common carp and koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) (Bretzinger et al., 1999; Hedrick et al., 2000; Neukirch and Kunz, 2001; Perelberg et al., 2003) and is spreading rapidly across the globe (Gilad et al., 2003). The first known occurrence of the disease described in koi carp in Europe is dated to 1996 (Way et al., 2004b ) but the first major outbreaks of KHV disease were seen in farms culturing common and koi carp in Israel in 1998. Japan experienced its first outbreak of KHV in May 2003, followed by extensive outbreaks of KHV in cage-cultured carp in October 2003 (Sano, 2004). In 2003, German common carp farms also suffered severe mortalities due to KHV after receiving imports of carp from a non-EC member country. Therefore, it is time to reconsider the opinion, that KHV is a disease limited to the ornamental fish trade, and to evaluate the means with which its impact on European aquaculture can be controlled.

This paper gives a review of the emergence of KHV, the current global situation with special attention to the increased severity of outbreaks in Asia, and a discussion of the dilemma in application of diagnostic methods, with recommendations on combinations of diagnostic techniques and strategies for prevention and control of KHV in Europe.

Reference:

O.L.M.Haenen, K.Way, S.M.Bergmann and E.Ariel (2004) The emergence of koi herpesvirus and its significance to European aquaculture. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists, 24(6): 293-307

O.L.M.Haenen, K.Way*, S.M. Bergmann and E.Ariel

Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists, 24(6): 293-307