Publications

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a rhabdovirus found in fish from oceans of the northern hemisphere and freshwaters of Europe. It has caused extensive losses of cultured and wild fish and has become established in the North American Great Lakes. Large die-offs of wild fish in the Great Lakes due to VHSV have alarmed the public and provoked government attention on the...

There are three main genetic lineages or genogroups of Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) in N. America. Strains representing the M genogroup are more virulent in rainbow trout relative to the U genogroup. In this study, we used microarray analysis to evaluate potential mechanisms responsible for host-specific virulence in rainbow trout that were given intraperitoneal...

Initially established from proliferative skin lesions of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., the epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cell line (Fijan, Sulimanovic, Bearzotti, Muzinic, Zwillenberg, Chilmonczyk, Vautherot & de Kinkelin 1983) has become one of the most widely used tools for research on fish viruses and the diagnosis of fish viral diseases.

A common clinical sign of ichthyophoniasis in herring and trout is “sandpaper” skin, a roughening of the epidermis characterized by the appearance of small papules, followed by ulceration and sloughing of the epithelium; early investigators hypothesized that these ulcers might be a means of transmitting the parasite, Ichthyophonus sp., without the necessity of ingesting an infected host...

The introduction of American shad from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast of North America in the late 1800’s and the subsequent population expansion in the 1980’s resulted in the amplification of Ichthyophonus sp., a Mesomycetozoean parasite of wild marine fishes. Sequence analysis of the ribosomal DNA gene complex (small subunit and internal transcribed spacer regions) and Ichthyophonus

Infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is one of the most important viral pathogens of salmonids. In rainbow trout, IHNV isolates in the M genogroup are highly pathogenic, while U genogroup isolates are significantly less pathogenic. We show here that, at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1, a representative U type strain yielded 42‐fold less infectious virus than an M type...

Induction of the innate immune pathways is critical for early anti-viral defense but there is limited understanding of how teleost fish recognize viral molecules and activate these pathways. In mammals, Toll-like receptors (TLR) 7 and 8 bind single-stranded RNA of viral origin and are activated by synthetic anti-viral imidazoquinoline compounds. Herein, we identify and describe the...

Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, were infected with Ichthyophonus sp. and held at 10°C, 15°C and 20°C for 28 days to monitor mortality and disease progression. Infected fish demonstrated more rapid onset of disease, higher parasite load, more severe host tissue reaction and reduced mean‐day‐to‐death at higher temperature. In a second experiment, Ichthyophonus‐infected fish were reared...

Characterization of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) field isolates from North America has established three main genogroups (U, M and L) that differ in host-specific virulence. In sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka, the U genogroup is highly virulent, whereas the M genogroup is nearly non-pathogenic. In this study, we sought to characterize the virus-host dynamics that...

The efficacy of a novel vaccine composed of three short recombinant subunit Pasteurella multocida toxin (PMT) proteins in combination with a bi-valent P. multocida whole-cell bacterin (rsPMT–PM) was evaluated in field studies for prevention and control of progressive atrophic rhinitis (PAR) of swine at 15 conventional farrow-to-finish farms. Experimental piglets that were immunized twice...

Parvicapsula minibicornis is a myxosporean parasite that is associated with disease in Pacific salmon during their freshwater life history phase. This study reports the development of a quantitative (real-time) polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) to detect P. minibicornis DNA. The QPCR assay targets the 18S ribosomal subunit gene. A plasmid DNA control was developed to calibrate cycle...

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