New test to rapidly detect VHSV

Tor-Eddie Fossbakk Current tests take a month, while the new technique, which measures viral genetic material, takes only 24 hours to identify the virus. According to Aquanews, an aquaculture news service from the University of Guelph, the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) has been isolated in a wide variety of dead fish from the St. Lawrence River, the Niagara River, Lake St. Claire, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Most recently the virus was detected in Lake Huron only 22 miles from Lake Michigan. The virus, which causes anemia and hemorrhaging in fish, has now been identified in 19 species in the Great Lakes and neighboring waterways. Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine is set to receive a two-year, USD 181,000 grant from New York Sea Grant to develop the genetics-based test to spot the virus in both tissue and water samples. The grant also will be used to study optimal ways of handling specimens to be sent for testing. The Cornell University “Chronicle Online” says “the spread of the virus could have a devastating impact on aquaculture and particularly the channel catfish trade, which constitutes about 80 percent of aquaculture business in the United States.” The Great Lakes VHSV is not related to the European or Japanese genotypes and poses no health threat to humans Picture: Jason Koski, Cornell University Photography Caption: Dr. Paul Bowser, left, and postdoctoral associate Geoff Groocock collect organs (liver, spleen, gonads and kidney) of a round goby for viral analysis in Cornell's Veterinary Medical Center. The fish were infected with VHSV.