Abstract

A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) on fish farms in Korea and the epidemiology of IPNV infection in the farmed rainbow trout. In total, 43 pools of rainbow trout with apparent signs of viral infection from five provinces were obtained and analyzed. Evident cytopathic effects, including karyopycnosis and cell destruction, were observed in CHSE (chinook samlmon embyro)-214 cells infected with the virus isolates. Of these, ten viral isolates were assumed to be IPNV based on biophysical properties. RNA analysis revealed that the isolates contained two-segmented RNA genomes, further indicating that the viral isolates are IPNV. Antigenic comparison of the IPNV isolates identified three distinct serological groups separable by the cross-neutralization test. Of the ten IPNV isolates, six could be classified as strain DRT, two as strain Ab, and two as strain VR299. We were not able to isolate new strain of IPNV or any isolate serologically similar to the standard strain Sp.

• Keywords: Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV); Ab; DRT; VR299; rainbow trout; cross-neutralization