Isolation of Aquabirnavirus and Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus(VHSV) from Wild Marine Fishes

A survey of virus isolation was conducted on 160 samples of wild Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and 366 samples of other 9 wild fish species collected in 8 coastal areas of Japan in 2001. Aquabirnavirus (ABV) was isolated from flounder (15%), Japanese horse mackerel Trachurus japonicus (23%), and dark banded rockfish Sebastes inermis (4%). Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) was isolated from flounder (10%) and sand lance Ammodytes personatus (2%) while the other 6 fish species were virus-negative. Concurrently, the distribution of viruses was also examined in 200 flounder collected from different hatcheries and grow-out farms. Only 1.5% of the farmed flounder were ABV-positive and none was VHSV-positive.