Molecular characterization of Aquabirnaviruses isolated from farmed rainbow trout in Kenya
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1
Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Norway
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2
University of Nairobi, Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology & Parasitology, Kenya
Aquabirnaviruses are a diverse group of viruses within the family Birnaviridae. They include viruses from different species of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Many of these viruses, such as infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), cause serious diseases in a variety of fish species worldwide and have also been isolated from a variety of healthy freshwater and marine fish and shellfish.
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were introduced to Kenya from Europe around the year 1920. They are reared in rivers in the high altitudes of Mount Kenya and Aberdares where temperatures are cool and the water is clean. Several fish farms have since been introduced along these rivers rearing rainbow trout. Further, the government has set up a rainbow trout hatchery in the high altitudes of Mt Kenya, harnessing water from river Chania, a tributary of the larger river Tana, which has its source from the top of the mountain.
In order to meet their production requirements, some of the farms import fertilized eggs from the USA and Europe. It is well known that importation of breeding materials can be associated with the introduction of diseases and indeed, several of these farms are experiencing disease outbreaks.
The objective of the present study was to investigate the presence of aquabirnaviruses in farmed rainbow trout in Kenya. 60 rainbow trout fish weighing approximately 250 gms were sampled from four farms by dip netting. The fish in groups of six were placed in polythene bags with aerated cold water and then transported by road to the lab where they were sacrificed and sampled. Organ collection included head kidneys, livers and spleens stored both in RNALater and transport medium. Screening of samples was done by RT-PCR and virus re-isolation. The prevalence of IPNV and phylogenetic relationships in comparison with isolates found in other parts of the world as well as the implication for the Kenyan rainbow trout industry will be presented and discussed.
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by NORAD through the Project "Capacity building for
training and research in aquatic and environmental health in
Eastern and Southern Africa" (TAN-13/0027).
Keywords:
Aquabirnavirus,
Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus,
rainbow trout,
Kenya,
Birnaviridae Infections
Conference:
AquaEpi I - 2016, Oslo, Norway, 20 Sep - 22 Sep, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Aquatic Animal Epidemiology
Citation:
Mulei
I,
Nyaga
P,
Mbuthia
P,
Evensen
Ø and
Mutoloki
S
(2016). Molecular characterization of Aquabirnaviruses isolated from farmed rainbow trout in Kenya.
Front. Vet. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
AquaEpi I - 2016.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FVETS.2016.02.00009
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Received:
17 Aug 2016;
Published Online:
14 Sep 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Isaac Mulei, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Oslo, 0033, Norway, isaacmulei@yahoo.com