Development of Non-Lethal Sampling Method for Disease Detection

FWS Agreement Number

30181-A-G013

Study Objectives

The ultimate objective of this study is to determine the usefulness of nonlethal sampling for the diagnosis of fish diseases within a population. In specific, this study was performed with the following objectives

1. To compare between lethal (kidneys and spleen) and non-lethal (blood, mucus, and uro-fecal swab) samples for the detection of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) following a standardized experimental infection.
2. To compare between lethal (kidneys and spleen) and non-lethal (blood, mucus, and uro-fecal swab) samples for the detection of Renibacterium salmoninarum (Rs), the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) following a standardized experimental infection.
3. To compare lethal and non-lethal sampling methods for detecting pathogens in naturally infected fish stocks and to determine if the pathogen/viral load plays a role in non-lethal detection efficacy.
4. To determine the best statistical approach for relating non-lethal diagnostic tests to prevalence of disease and to determine the appropriate number of fish to sample using non-lethal (imperfect) diagnostic tests to detect the prevalence of a disease in a subpopulation or population of fish.