Presence of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by histopathology, ELISA and RT-PCR

Abstract

Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) culture in Mexico experiences sporadic and significant fish mortalities, where disease signs are associated with infectious pancreatic necrosis virus disease (IPNV). The purpose of the present work was to support the potential of ELISA, histopathology, and RT-PCR as routine techniques for IPNV detection. Fourteen trout farms were monitored after a disease outbreak. Positive results were confirmed in different collected organisms from 21% of tested farms by all 3 techniques. Virus detection by ELISA and RT-PCR was successfully performed in only two days after the initial signs of disease were observed in fish, since these methods are faster when compared to histopathology, which only detected signs of disease such as necrosis of the pancreatic acinus and intestine after 5 days. The results suggest that ELISA and RT-PCR offer an early, sensitive, faster and cheaper alternative for the routine detection of IPNV compared to cell culture and histopathology. These techniques can be performed for fish health monitoring and are reliable tools in the control, prevention and timely detection of IPNV.