Detection of viral hemorrhagic septicemia in round gobies in New York State (USA) waters of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River

Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
By: , and 

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Abstract

In May 2006 a large mortality of several thousand round gobies Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) occurred in New York waters of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Necropsies of sampled fish from these areas showed pallor of the liver and gills, and hemorrhagic areas in many organs. Histopathologic examination of affected tissues revealed areas of necrosis and hemorrhage. Inoculations of fathead minnow Pimephales promelas (Rafinesque, 1820) cell cultures with dilutions of tissue samples from the necropsied gobies produced a cytopathic effect within 5 d post-inoculation. Samples of cell culture supernatant were tested using RT-PCR and confirmed the presence of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV). Sequence analysis of the VHSV isolate resulted in its assignment to the type-IVb subgroup. The detection of VHSV in a relatively recent invasive fish species in the Great Lakes and the potential impact of VHSV on the ecology and economy of the area will require further investigation and careful management considerations. Inter-Research 2007.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Detection of viral hemorrhagic septicemia in round gobies in New York State (USA) waters of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River
Series title Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
DOI 10.3354/dao076187
Volume 76
Issue 3
Year Published 2007
Language English
Publisher Inter-Research
Contributing office(s) Western Fisheries Research Center
Description 6 p.
First page 187
Last page 192
Country United States
State New York
Other Geospatial Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence River
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