Health status of salmonids in river systems in Natal. II. Isolation and identification of viruses.

A total of 678 fish from 26 different sites along 8 river systems was examined for the presence of trout viruses. No isolations of any viruses were made from any fish collected from these systems in Natal during this study. No antibodies against any of the trout viruses were detected in the serum collected from these fish. It would appear from this study that the river systems in Natal are free of any of the known viruses of trout. Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus was, however, isolated from trout from the Natal Parks Board Hatchery at Kamberg Nature Reserve on the Mooi River during June and July of 1988. Neutralising antibodies against the VR 299 serotype of IPN virus were detected in the serum collected from trout at Kamberg in September 1988.