Passage of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) through invertebrates in an aquatic food chain

Abstract

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) was reisolated from particles containing faeces and pseudofaeces of scallops Pecten maximus after IPNV bath and injection challenges, and from prawns Pandalus borealis and Palaemon elegans which had grazed upon dead IPNV-contaminated scallops. Virus was also reisolated from prawns which were physically isolated from the scallops, but in contact with IPNV-contaminated scallop faeces and pseudofaeces. Virus titers of the prawns decreased rapidly after the contaminated food source was removed. IPNV was not detected in brown trout Salmo trutta which were fed prawns which contained 10(2.5) to 10(3.2) to 10(3.2) TCID50 g-1 wet weight, but was transmitted to 2 of 8 trout which were fed food pellets with a virus titer of 10(6) TCID50 g-1 wet weight.