NAA requested that
USDA-APHIS take immediate action to prohibit or
restrict the interstate movement of animals,
articles and means of conveyance that may
distribute a new strain of viral hemorrhagic
septicemia virus (VHSV) recently discovered in the Great Lakes region. NAA
offered assistance in support of efforts to
address the emergency.
Specific comments
were:
The new strain of VHSV
detected in the Great Lakes has been demonstrated by isolation
and infectivity studies to infect and cause
significant mortality of a broad range of feral
fish species. The affected fish families include
the following:
Esocidae,
Percidae,
Sciaenidae,
Cottidae,
Percichthyidae,
Centrarchidae,
Clupeidae,
and
Catostomidae (Viral Hemorrhagic
Septicemia in the
Great Lakes, July 2006
Emerging Disease Notice. Cynthia L. Johnson,
July 2006. USDA:APHIS:VS:CEAH:CEI). The broadly
identified infection risk attests to the
nationwide threat this virus may pose to the
commercial aquaculture industry.
We are requesting that
APHIS immediately implement interim measures to
control the greatest potential risk vector
(distribution of live, infected fish), investigate
the sources and scope of the risks of VHSV
transmission to commercial aquaculture, and
evaluate the efficacy of interim or permanent
regulations to protect farm raised aquatic animals
from VHSV.
The specific method or methods of transmission of
the virus have yet to be conclusively confirmed
but could conceivably include fishermen, fishing
gear, boats, water and live fish. Therefore, the
dimension of the interim measures need to be
carefully considered, and efforts should be made
to prioritize development of controls for the
greatest risks of transmission. Conversely, low
risk vectors or fish that can be shown free of the
virus should be permitted ready passage between
states, and scientific methods to confirm such low
risks should be established.
We hope that interim
measures will protect domestic aquaculture
producers and prevent spread of the virus while
its impacts on other cultured fishes (including
salmonids, a likely but yet undemonstrated host
for the recently detected strain of VHSV) are
assessed.
