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Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

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DAO 158:65-74 (2024)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03788

Risk assessment of wild fish as environmental sources of red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV) outbreaks in aquaculture

Yasuhiko Kawato1,*, Kaori Mizuno2, Shogo Harakawa2, Yuzo Takada1, Yusaku Yoshihara3, Hidemasa Kawakami2, Takafumi Ito1

1Pathology Division, Nansei Field Station, Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Mie 519-0193, Japan
2Ehime Fisheries Research Center, Ehime 798-0087, Japan
3Ainan Town Fisheries Division, Ehime 798-4292, Japan
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV) causes substantial economic damage to aquaculture. In the present study, RSIV in wild fish near aquaculture installations was surveyed to evaluate the risk of wild fish being an infection source for RSIV outbreaks in cultured fish. In total, 1102 wild fish, consisting of 44 species, were captured from 2 aquaculture areas in western Japan using fishing, gill nets, and fishing baskets between 2019 and 2022. Eleven fish from 7 species were confirmed to harbor the RSIV genome using a probe-based real-time PCR assay. The mean viral load of the RSIV-positive wild fish was 101.1 ± 0.4 copies mg-1 DNA, which was significantly lower than that of seemingly healthy red sea bream Pagrus major in a net pen during an RSIV outbreak (103.3 ± 1.5 copies mg-1 DNA) that occurred in 2021. Sequencing analysis of a partial region of the major capsid protein gene demonstrated that the RSIV genome detected in the wild fish was identical to that of the diseased fish in a fish farm located in the same area in which the wild fish were captured. Based on the diagnostic records of RSIV in the sampled area, the RSIV-infected wild fish appeared during or after the RSIV outbreak in cultured fish, suggesting that RSIV detected in wild fish was derived from the RSIV outbreak in cultured fish. Therefore, wild fish populations near aquaculture installations may not be a significant risk factor for RSIV outbreaks in cultured fish.


KEY WORDS: Red sea bream iridovirus · RSIV · Megalocytivirus · Wild fish · Pagrus major


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Cite this article as: Kawato Y, Mizuno K, Harakawa S, Takada Y, Yoshihara Y, Kawakami H, Ito T (2024) Risk assessment of wild fish as environmental sources of red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV) outbreaks in aquaculture. Dis Aquat Org 158:65-74. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03788

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