KHV identified in South Africa

KOI HERPES virus (KHV), also known as carp nephritis and gill necrosis virus (CNGV), has been positively identified in South Africa, writes STEVE McVEIGH.

KHV is an emerging disease, according to Switzerland's Dr Ralph Knusel, of the Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health, University of Berne, who is currently working at the University of Stellenbosch to develop a National Fish Diseases Programme for South Africa.

First described in Israel in 1998, the first confirmed KHV case in South Africa was from the Western Cape in December 2003.

Since