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Viral Hemorrhagic
Septicemia
VHS is a deadly disease that LCWA
is extremely concerned with. To date it has not been found in the Lake
Champlain Basin. From what we are told, it is on its’ way. VHS has been
found within 70 mile of Lake Champlain and has spread across New York
State rapidly.
It has taken a large toll on fish
in New York and other places. We will keep you informed of all the latest
information that we can gather. You will find articles here from New York,
the Great lakes and other resources. We will also let you know what
Vermont is doing.
LCWA is very concerned for many
reasons. If the disease hits (and it will) we should be ready for it.
There are many questions to be answered. The following is a summary of
some of them. LCWA will be actively looking for these answers from Vermont
Fish & Wildlife and will keep you posted. Pay attention to this one, it is
an extremely important issue to our fishery and the economy of the State
of Vermont and New York.
What happens when VHS hits? Do we
see it attack the Ed Weed Hatchery? What will the Feds (APHIS) do to our
hatcheries if it does? What impacts will it have on our already overtaxed
hatchery system? What are the impacts to stocking programs of Lake Trout,
Salmon, Walleye and Trout? Will those numbers decrease? How about inland
water stocking? Infection at Ed Weed certainly would affect stocking of
inland waters. These questions all need answers and a plan with an
implementation schedule.
Vermont’s reaction so far has been
to put emergency bait regulation into effect. They are as follows:
For a copy
of the latest rules look on our current news page.
There is more VHS and bait info on
Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s Website, here is the link;
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/vhs.cfm
This is link is to a very
interesting video done by Mr. Doug Stang, NY DEC Bureau Chief of
Fisheries. Pay close attention to what the hatchery personnel have to say.
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=3ab1b4ec06b7722efb10
The following is information put
out by;
1.
USDA Dept of Animal and Plant Health Inspection
2.
Cornell School Of Veterinary Medicine
USDA
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United States
Department of
Agriculture
Animal and
Plant Health
Inspection Service
Veterinary Services
Centers for
Epidemiology and
Animal Health |
Viral Hemorrhagic
Septicemia in the
Great Lakes
July 2006
Emerging Disease Notice |
|
Summary: |
Viral hemorrhagic septicemia
(VHS) has historically been considered to be the most serious viral
disease of salmonids reared in freshwater environments in Europe .
More recently, VHS has been associated with marine finfish species,
and most recently has become an emerging disease of freshwater fish in
the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada .
VHS was first detected in the
Great Lakes region in the Bay of Quinte , Lake Ontario , in 2005, and
was subsequently detected in an archived 2003 sample from Lake St.
Clair . VHS virus also was detected in Lake St. Clair in 2005 and in
Lake Ontario , Lake Erie , Lake St. Clair and the St. Lawrence River
in 2006 in a variety of fish species. Prior to 2003, isolations of
VHS virus were limited in North America to saltwater finfish from the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, including Chinook and Coho salmon,
Pacific herring, Atlantic herring and cod. Since 2005, the list of
species known to be affected by VHS has risen to more than 40,
including a number of ecologically and recreationally important fish.
This Emerging Disease Notice
describes the current status of viral hemorrhagic septicemia in the
U.S. , focusing on the 2005 and 2006 outbreaks in the Great Lakes
area. This notice also quantifies trade and production statistics
for relevant fisheries products and aquaculture resources and provides
a qualitative assessment of potential risks and impacts of this
disease in the event that it affects aquaculture fish species.
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How extensive is viral
hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) in the United States? |
Since Spring 2005, a number of
die-offs have occurred in the Great Lakes area, including muskellunge,
freshwater drum, round goby, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, bluegill,
crappie, gizzard shad and other fish species (Table 1). Some of
these die-offs reportedly involved large numbers of fish. VHS virus
has been isolated and confirmed from these die-offs. VHS has also
been detected in samples of walleye, white bass, and silver redhorses
and shorthead redhorse suckers that were not part of a die-off and
were not symptomatic. It is not known how VHS virus was transferred
to the Great Lakes , or how long it has been in the ecosystem;
however, one possible scenario is that the virus may have mutated from
a marine form and become newly pathogenic to naïve freshwater fish
species.
In support of this theory,
genotyping of an isolate of VHS virus from muskellunge in Lake St.
Clair , Michigan , has revealed an apparently new substrain of the
North American VHS genotype. Preliminary studies of the Great Lakes
VHS genotype show that it causes moderate mortality in salmonids (Lake
Trout, Chinook salmon and Steelhead trout). Many recreationally
important populations of these salmonids , which were originally
introduced and have since become established, exist in the upper
portion of the Great Lakes area where outbreaks of VHS have not yet
been detected. In addition, cage culture of salmonids occurs on the
Ontario side of the Great Lakes , though not on the U.S. sides.
Baitfish also represent an
area of concern for the potential introduction and/or spread of VHS.
Fish belonging to a large number of cyprinid and other species are
collected from the Great Lakes and used as bait for sport fisheries
around the U.S. Baitfish from Canada are routinely exported to the
U.S. Additionally, some aquaculture producers collect baitfish
broodstock from the Great Lakes to produce commercial baitfish in
aquaculture facilities. The destinations and numbers of baitfish
moved are not well documented, and regulation of this sector is
inconsistent among States, or lacking entirely.
Live sale of fish by
commercial fishers is also a concern. Fish from Lake Erie are sold
live in Ontario , Canada for transport to pond aquaculture facilities
in the Midwest U.S. The species, volume and destinations of these
fish are not well documented.
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Table 1. Outbreaks of
Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia in the Great Lakes 2005-2006
|
Date |
Location
|
State or Province
|
Primary species (Other
species) |
Estimated
|
Comments
|
|
2003-05 |
Lake St. Clair
|
MI |
Muskellunge |
4 of 27 |
Samples submitted over
several years |
|
Summer 05 |
Bay of Quinte /Lake
Ontario |
Ontario |
Freshwater Drum
(Muskellunge Round Goby) |
Several hundred tons
|
Very large natural
mortality |
|
May 06 |
Sandusky Bay/Lake Erie
|
OH |
Freshwater Drum
|
Very large mortality
|
"Windrows" of fish on
beach |
|
May 06 |
St. Lawrence River
|
NY |
Round Goby
(Muskellunge) |
Large die off |
River origin |
|
May 06 |
Lake Erie |
OH |
Yellow Perch |
Large die off |
Fish dying in commercial
traps |
|
May 06 |
Lake Ontario |
Ontario |
Freshwater Drum
Smallmouth Bass
Bluegill Crappie |
Mortality event
|
Acute mortality - no
external signs |
|
May 06 |
Lake Erie |
OH |
Yellow Perch
Walleye
White bass
(Freshwater Drum Smallmouth Bass) |
Mortality in wild
|
Samples from area of traps
and mortality |
|
June 06 |
Lake St. Clair
|
MI |
Gizzard shad
Redhorse sucker
Blunt nose sucker
Northern pike
(Yellow perch) |
Large mortality
|
|
|
|
|
|
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What is VHS and where
does it occur? |
VHS is caused by an
aquatic rhabdovirus. It has long been considered a serious disease
of rainbow trout and a few other freshwater fish species raised
for commercial aquaculture in Europe . Known as Egtved virus in
these fish populations, VHS virus causes high mortality and can
have severe economic consequences. For this reason, VHS is
listed as a reportable disease by the World Organization for
Animal Health (the OIE ─ formerly the Office International des
Epizooties). Related VHS virus strains have also been isolated
from a variety of marine fishes in the North Pacific, North
Atlantic , and seas around northern Europe and Japan .
Four genotypes of VHS
virus have been identified, and appear to be distributed
geographically, rather than by host or year of epizootic
occurrence. Genotypes I, II, and III are mainly found in Europe
and Japan , while isolates of genotype IV have been recovered only
from fish in North America , Japan and Korea . The pathogenicity
of VHS virus varies by genotype and species affected. The VHSV
isolates originating from wild marine fish show no or low
pathogenicity in rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon, although
several are pathogenic to turbot. The European/Asian freshwater
isolates are highly pathogenic to rainbow trout.
VHS virus was first
reported in the United States in 1988 in spawning salmon in the
Pacific Northwest . The disease has been found in both wild and
hatchery raised salmon in the Pacific Northwest . VHS is now
enzootic among Pacific herring and Pacific cod populations off the
coast of Alaska , Canada , and Washington State . In the
Atlantic Ocean , the virus has been isolated from Atlantic herring
and Greenland halibut. Although the North American strain of VHS
virus is moderately pathogenic to herring, causing occasional
self-limiting epizootics, it is relatively avirulent for several
species of marine salmonids .
The number of wild fish
species found to be susceptible to the North American genotype of
the VHS virus is growing, with at least 40 different species (both
freshwater and marine) testing positive for the virus.
Susceptible fish species are found among the Salmoniformes
(salmon, trout), Esociformes (pike), Clupeiformes (herring,
anchovy), Gadiformes (cod), Pleuronectiformes (flounders, soles,
other flatfishes), Osmeriformes (smelt), Perciformes (perch,
drum), Scorpaeniformes (rockfishes, sculpins ), Anguilliformes
(eels), Cyprinodontiformes ( mummichog ) and Gasterosteiformes
(sticklebacks).
The European/Asian
freshwater genotype of the VHS virus is readily transmissible to
fish of all ages, primarily via the urine. Survivors of
infection can be lifelong carriers and shedders. Once VHS virus
is established in farmed fish stock, and in associated watersheds,
the disease becomes enzootic due to carrier fish, including
cultured and wild populations. The virus has been isolated from
feral fish in waters receiving hatchery effluent and can persist
in water for several days. Control methods for VHS currently
rely on fish health surveillance programs and measures such as
eradication and fallowing. These procedures have been shown to
be effective and have resulted in the elimination of VHS from
several parts of Europe .
All VHS viruses can be
recovered from homogenates of internal organs, sex products, or
urine. Little virus can be recovered from feces. Experimentally,
fish can be infected by cohabitation, immersion, intraperitoneal
and intramuscular injection, brushing virus on the gills, and
feeding virally spiked food.
Fish-eating birds, such as
the gray heron, can be mechanical vectors of VHS virus, but
passage through the gastrointestinal tract of birds appears to
inactivate the virus. The virus does not appear to be transmitted
by parasitic vectors or to be capable of replication in insects.
In the hatchery environment, mechanical transfer of VHS virus on
the surface of animate or inanimate objects presents a substantial
hazard.
Sources: International
Database on Aquatic Animal Diseases (through OIE Collaborating
Centre for Information on Aquatic Animal Diseases at the CEFAS
Weymouth Laboratory , UK ). Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia of
Fishes, Fish Disease Leaflet 83, U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Services, 1990. Viral haemorrhagic septicaemia
virus in marine fish and its implications for fish farming – a
review. H.F. Skall , N.J. Olesen , and S. Mellergaard ; Journal
of Fish Diseases, Volume 28 Page 509 - September 2005,
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2761.2005.00654.x |
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What is the size of the aquaculture industries of susceptible
species in the U.S. and in affected states?
|
Production from the four states that border the lower Great Lakes
( New York , Pennsylvania , Michigan , Ohio ) where VHS virus has
been isolated comprised just over 1% of the total value of U.S.
aquaculture food fish production in 1998, the most recent year
that these data are available (Table 2). These states also
contributed about 2% and 3% of the total value of baitfish and
sport/game fish production in the U.S. , respectively.
Baitfish is of concern for
potential VHSV spread due to the distribution of these fish to
broader geographical areas. According to the 1998 Census of
Aquaculture Point of First Sale data, baitfish raised in New York
, with a value of $38,150 were sold to live haulers, while the
corresponding figure for cultured baitfish sales in Ohio was about
$23,250. Additionally, baitfish sales for fee-fishing and
recreational usage amounted to $56,300 and $429,000, respectively,
in New York and Ohio .
Production of taxonomic
groupings of food fish that are susceptible or likely to be
susceptible to VHS are shown in Table 3. The states bordering
the lower Great Lakes housed 110 trout farms during 1998, about
20% of the total number of trout production facilities in the U.S.
These states, led by Pennsylvania and Michigan , contributed
$7,800,000, accounting for 11% of the total value of U.S. trout
production.
As indicated, VHS virus
isolation has been documented in several species of sport and game
fish in the wild. Four of these species that are cultured in the
affected states for release are shown in Table 4. Although with
a relatively small value of $339,000, cultured largemouth bass in
the lower Great Lakes states accounted for about 8% of the value
of national sales for this species.
Fish released from
hatchery systems that are used for restoration and conservation
purposes constitute another potential pathway for VHSV
transmission. Species cultured for release to the wild in the
lower Great Lakes area are trout, salmon, bass and walleye.
Based on Census of Aquaculture data, there were 38 such trout
hatcheries distributed throughout the four affected states in
1998.
Pennsylvania housed 14 of
these, followed by New York with 10, and Michigan and Ohio with
seven each. An estimated 16 million fingerling trout were
distributed by these hatcheries in 1998. In addition to trout
hatcheries, the affected states housed 13 walleye, 12 salmon ( New
York only) and 11 bass hatchery facilities.
The U.S. produced almost
25,000 tons of rainbow trout in aquaculture environments in 2004,
accounting for 5 % of the world’s total.
Source: United Nations
FAO, Fishstat |
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Table 2. Value of
cultured food fish, bait fish, and sport/game fish production for
the U.S. and selected states
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|
Food fish
|
Baitfish
|
Sport/game fish
|
|
Number farms
|
Sales ($1,000s)
|
Number farms
|
Sales ($1,000s)
|
Number farms
|
Sales ($1,000s)
|
|
U.S. total
|
2,168 |
691,714 |
275 |
37,482 |
204 |
7,390 |
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New York
|
38 |
1,025 |
14 |
149 |
12 |
124 |
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Pennsylvania
|
43 |
6,039 |
8 |
(D) |
5 |
67 |
|
Michigan
|
41 |
1,636 |
4 |
(D) |
8 |
52 |
|
Ohio |
22 |
648 |
12 |
541 |
16 |
388 |
Source: 1998 Census
of Agriculture
D = Information suppressed to avoid disclosure for individual
farms
Table 3.
VHS-susceptible food fish; value of production for the U.S. and
selected states
|
|
Trout* |
Hybrid striped bass
|
Perch |
Walleye |
|
Number farms
|
Sales in $1,000s
|
Number farms
|
Sales in $1,000s
|
Number farms
|
Sales in $1,000s
|
Number farms
|
Sales in $1,000s
|
|
U.S. total
|
561 |
72,473 |
88 |
28,173 |
75 |
(D) |
38 |
1,213 |
|
NY |
30 |
920 |
1 |
(D) |
4 |
10 |
1 |
(D) |
|
PA |
38 |
5,428 |
3 |
(D) |
3 |
(D) |
1 |
(D) |
|
MI |
34 |
1,148 |
1 |
(D) |
5 |
(D) |
3 |
(D) |
|
OH |
8 |
307 |
3 |
(D) |
10 |
80 |
3 |
53 |
Source: 1998 Census
of Agriculture
* The value of trout production includes food fish, stockers, and
fingerlings.
D = Information suppressed to avoid disclosure for individual
farms
Table 4.
VHS-susceptible sport/game fish; value of production for the U.S.
and selected states
|
|
Bluegill
|
Crappie |
Largemouth bass
|
Sunfish |
|
Number farms
|
Sales in $1,000s
|
Number farms
|
Sales in $1,000s
|
Number farms
|
Sales in $1,000s
|
Number farms
|
Sales in $1,000s
|
|
U.S. total
|
129 |
1,790 |
39 |
310 |
136 |
4,450 |
28 |
542 |
|
NY |
2 |
(D) |
4 |
3 |
11 |
120 |
0 |
(D) |
|
PA |
4 |
(D) |
1 |
(D) |
4 |
30 |
1 |
(D) |
|
MI |
7 |
30 |
1 |
(D) |
2 |
(D) |
1 |
(D) |
|
OH |
10 |
108 |
2 |
(D) |
15 |
189 |
2 |
(D) |
Source: 1998 Census
of Agriculture
D = Information suppressed to avoid disclosure for individual
farms |
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In addition to the
potential effects of VHS on cultured fish species, there are
several species of fish which are commercially caught in the lower
Great Lakes and which are susceptible or likely to be susceptible
to VHS. Total catch for these vulnerable species from lakes
Erie, Ontario, and St. Clair amounted to about 1.3 million pounds
during 1999 (Table 5). Lake Erie yielded the vast majority of
the catch and, by weight, yellow perch comprised 57% the species
caught in the three affected bodies of water.
Table 5. Commercial
fisheries catch in the lower Great Lakes , by state and selected
species, 1999 .
|
|
Thousands of
pounds |
|
|
MI
|
NY
|
OH
|
PA
|
Total
|
|
Gizzard shad
|
6 |
0 |
105 |
0 |
111 |
|
Rock bass
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
White perch
|
0 |
0 |
131 |
0 |
131 |
|
Sunfish |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Northern pike
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Suckers |
2 |
0 |
32 |
2 |
36 |
|
Burbot |
0 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
9 |
|
White bass
|
0 |
0 |
221 |
0 |
221 |
|
Yellow perch
|
0 |
40 |
697 |
3 |
740 |
|
Drum ( sheepshead )
|
0 |
0 |
35 |
1 |
36 |
|
Total |
8 |
45 |
1,221 |
14 |
1,288 |
Source: Great Lakes
Fisheries Commission
According to Great Lakes
Fisheries Commission data, the fish species represented on Table 6
accounted for about 36% of all species caught in the lower Great
Lakes in 1999. The number of different species that are known to
be susceptible to the Great Lakes strain of VHS virus is
increasing and detailed information on the status of other Great
Lakes species of fish regarding their susceptibility to VHS is not
known.
The United States wild
caught fish numbers show that over 3,000 tons of fish were caught
in 2004, the majority being gizzard shad, yellow perch, and
freshwater drum (Table 6).
Products from both
aquacultured and wild caught fish totaled over 1 million tons in
both 2003 and 2004 (Table 7). |
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What is the place of
the U.S. in the international market for susceptible fish species?
What are U.S. exports of relevant fish species and related
products? |
Quantities of live fish
(except for eel) are not reported through WTA, but values serve as
a good representation of the magnitude of the volume of fish being
exported. The US exported $231,000 worth of live trout in 2005,
and $137,000 from January to April 2006 (Table 8). The NESOI
category (not elsewhere specified or included) does not give
specific species, however some of the species affected by VHS
would be included in this category.
The US exported $16.6
million worth of live fish, NESOI in 2005 and nearly 8 million
from January to April 2006. The US also exported 501,442 KG
(worth $5.6 million of live eel) in 2005, and 82,708 KG (worth
$912,000) from January to April 2006. Canada , Chile , South
Korea , Belgium and China were the primary recipients of these
live fish exports from January through April, 2006. The U.S.
exported nearly $200 million in whole fish or relevant fish
products during 2005 and more than $90 million in fish or fish
products during the first four months of 2006 (Table 8). Canada
, Germany and Japan were the primary recipients of these exported
products.
Source: World Trade
Atlas |
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Table 6. Wild Caught,
United States , 2003 and 2004
|
|
2003
|
2004
|
|
Production (Tons)
|
Production (Tons)
|
% of World Stocks
|
|
American gizzard
shad |
2,321 |
1,870 |
100% |
|
American yellow
perch |
778 |
745 |
17.5% |
|
Freshwater drum
|
429 |
372 |
100% |
|
Rainbow trout
|
144 |
153 |
6.6% |
|
Walleye |
12 |
12 |
<0.1% |
|
White bass
|
76 |
146 |
100% |
|
Total
|
3,760
|
3,298
|
|
Source: United Nations
FAO, Fishstat
Table 7. Aquaculture
& Wild Caught Product , United States , 2003 and 2004
|
|
2003
|
2004
|
|
Production (Tons)
|
Production (Tons)
|
% of World
Production |
|
Fish fillets, frozen
|
219,461 |
211,193 |
9.8% |
|
Fish flours fit for
human consumption |
20,073 |
23,082 |
48.6% |
|
Fish livers and
roes, dried, smoked, salted or in brine |
545 |
5,543 |
8.8% |
|
Fish livers and
roes, frozen |
43,035 |
45,418 |
53.9% |
|
Fish meat, whether
or not minced, frozen |
388,695 |
375,936 |
29.1% |
|
Fish oils, other
than liver oils |
88,769 |
81,376 |
7.8% |
|
Fresh or chilled
fillets and other fish meat, whether or not minced
|
136,491 |
128,651 |
25% |
|
Livers and roes,
fresh or chilled |
179 |
151 |
15.6% |
|
Other fish, dried,
whether or not salted but not smoked |
686 |
858 |
<0.1% |
|
Other fish,
including fillets, smoked |
1,589 |
1,306 |
0.2% |
|
Other fish, salted
or in brine |
45 |
63 |
<0.1% |
|
Other flatfish,
frozen |
15,619 |
15,547 |
13.2% |
|
Other freshwater and
saltwater fish, frozen |
216,019 |
122,320 |
6% |
|
Prepared or
preserved fish, excl. whole or in pieces |
2,194 |
2,420 |
0.1% |
|
Total
|
1,133,400
|
1,013,864
|
|
Source: United Nations
FAO, Fishstat
Table 8: U.S. exports
of relevant live fish and fish products, 2005 and January - April
2006
|
Live Fish or
Product |
2005 |
January - April
2006 |
|
|
Quantity (KG)
|
$Value (thousands)
|
Quantity (KG)
|
$Value (thousands)
|
|
Live Fish, NESOI*
|
NA** |
16,619 |
NA** |
7,979 |
|
Live Eels
|
501,442 |
5,670 |
82,708 |
912 |
|
Live Trout
|
NA** |
231 |
NA** |
137 |
|
Trout, Frozen (not
Fillets) |
205,410 |
675 |
56,994 |
236 |
|
Trout, Fresh or
Chilled (not Fillets) |
382,216 |
1,816 |
129,294 |
599 |
|
Fish or Fish Parts
(not Fillets, Livers, Roes) |
66,421,483
|
168,078 |
21,803,898
|
52,128 |
|
Fish Livers and
Roes, Frozen |
6,067,114
|
26,220 |
5,510,158
|
38,502 |
|
Total Fish
Product Exports |
73,085,223
|
196,789
|
27,500,344
|
91,465
|
*NESOI – not elsewhere
specified or included, specific species not given
**NA - not available
Source: World Trade Atlas |
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CEI’s plans for follow
up: |
No follow-up is currently
planned regarding the outbreak of VHS in the US . If you need
more information or to comment on this worksheet, you may contact
CEI at (970) 494-7000, or cei/aphis/usda@aphis.usda.gov.
____________________________________
For more information, contact:
USDA :APHIS:VS:CEAH:CEI
NRRC Building B, M.S. 2E5
2150 Centre Avenue
Fort Collins , CO 80526-8117
970.494.7000
E-mail:cei/aphis/usda@aphis.usda.gov
Or visit CEI on the Web at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/cei/
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Avenue, S.W. , Washington , D.C. 20250–9410 , or call (800)
795–3272 (voice) or (202) 720–6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal
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Cornell University
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June 14, 2006
Deadly virus in freshwater fish is found in
Northeast for the first time by Cornell researchers
By Krishna Ramanujan
A deadly fish virus has been found for the
first time in a variety of freshwater fish in the northeastern
United States by Cornell University researchers.
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Jason Koski/University Photography |
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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 viral
hemorrhagic septicemia virus.
Copyright © Cornell University |
According to experts at the Aquatic Animal
Health Program at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, the
viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), which causes fatal anemia
and hemorrhaging in many fish species, was discovered in upstate New
York. It poses no threat to humans.
In May 2006, the researchers, in collaboration
with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC), isolated the virus in round gobies that died in a massive
fish kill in the St. Lawrence River and in Irondequoit Bay, which is
on the southern shore of Lake Ontario near Rochester, N.Y. VHSV was
also found in a muskellunge from the St. Lawrence River in May.
VHSV is classified as a reportable disease by | |
