Latin American & Caribbean Aquaculture 2023

April 18 - 21, 2023

Panama City, Panama

FIRST EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY TO DETECT Megalocytivirus AND Ranavirus IN ORNAMENTAL FISH FROM THE PERUVIAN AMAZON

Fernando Ramos-Espinoza*, Karin Bances-Chávez De Moya, Mauro Estrella-Ortiz, José Rodríguez-Callan, Vanessa Quevedo-Alvarado, Yerson Duran-Ramírez, Rodolfo Velazco-Peña, Muriel Gómez-Sánchez Orezzoli.

 

*National Fisheries Health Agency (SANIPES)

Calle. Amador Merino Reyna 267 Piso 12 San Isidro - Lima

somarfres@gmail.com

 



The family Iridoviridae has three genera that affect fish (Megalocytivirus, Ranavirus, and Lymhocystivirus). Megalocytiviruses and ranaviruses are pathogens related to severe disease in fish farming worldwide. Megalocytivirus is responsible for high mortalities in ornamental fish industry.  The aim of this study was to detect the presence or absence of Megalocytivirus an Ranavirus in ornamental fish species from the Peruvian Amazon. For that, a total of 600 different ornamental fish were collected between June and September 2022 from aquarium facilities of the city of Iquitos, Peru. The samples included five species Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma, Blochis splendens, Carnegiella strigata, Pterophylum scalare and Ancistrus temminckii and were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and histopathology. The PCR results were negative for both Megalocytivirus and Ranavirus (Table 01). Furthermore, the histopathology showed non-infectious lesions in the kidney and liver of all fish species and the presence of monogeneans and Piscinoodinium sp. in gills and metacercarial cysts in liver. In addition, the histopathological examination revealed an unusual finding of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis in the esophage of Ancistrus temminckii (Figure 01). The results suggest that Megalocytivirus and Ranavirus are not circulating in five ornamental fish species from Peruvian Amazon and there are no histopathological lesions related to megalocytivirus-infected fish.