Testing and Identification of Carp Edema Virus Disease in Cultured Koi

An acute infectious diseases occurred in a koi farm in Fangshan district, Beijing, and it resulted in mortalities of more than 50%.The main symptoms of sick koi were gills necrosis, kidney erosion and edema,which were similar to the clinical signs of koi herpes virus disease (KHVD).But PCR tests showed negative results for KHV. For further diagnosis, bacterial cultures, transmission electron microscopy studies, virus isolation and PCR tests were used. Electron microscopic observation revealed pox virus particles having a size of about 200 nm×400 nm in the kidney. 548 and 180 bp fragments were amplified from organs of sick koi by PCR method using specific primers of carp edema virus (CEV). The fragments were sequenced and analysed. The results showed that they were shared 100% nucleotide identity with CEV-H504. All the results indicated that this disease was carp edema virus disease, caused by a kind of pox virus, CEV. This was the first report on the CEV of cultured koi in China.