Virology
Our virology research studies provide information on fish
viruses in support of risk assessments and policy decisions.
These in turn help us to diagnose and identify fish and
shellfish virus threats to the UK, and to determine the potential
impact of exotic viruses, such as viral haemorrhagic septicaemia
virus (VHS) on wild fish and aquaculture species. Establishing
exotic notifiable fish diseases enables effective control policies
to be enacted should they ever occur in the UK.
Our research covers, for example:
- factors affecting transmission routes
- the threat posed by systemic iridoviruses to amphibians and to
farmed and wild freshwater fish
- the validation of fish anti-body surveillance tools for the
detection fish previously exposed to a virus (using a
non-destructive blood test)
- using koi herpesvirus (KHV) disease as a model test
system. We are assessing the distribution of the disease in England
and Wales using an anti-body assay. In addition, the
specificity of the anti-body assay and the duration of the
anti-body response in carp are being determined.
We have formal and informal links with other UK and foreign
laboratories with strong fish virology research
programmes. Our Virology team has also collaborated in a
number of EU-funded research studies over the past ten years and
continues to do so. We are also a member of the EU Permanent
Advisory Network for Diseases in Aquaculture (PANDA).
For further information about our virology work contact peter.dixon@cefas.co.uk.