Transmission of some fish pathogenic viruses by the heron, Ardea cinerea

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Abstract
Various possibilities of transmitting fish pathogenic VHS, SVC and IPN viruses by the heron, Ardea cinerea, were investigated. Shedding of IPN virus in the faeces could be demonstrated for a period of 7 days when about 1 g of IPN virus‐infected trout fry was fed to the birds once only, whereas feeding larger quantities of infected fish on 5 consecutive days resulted in virus excretion for a further 5 days only. Infectious IPN virus could not be isolated from samples of blood and virus specific neutralizing antibodies could not be demonstrated in serum samples. A waterborne infection of trout fry was established by adding very small (0·2 g) quantities of faeces from herons fed IPN virus‐contaminated fish to 20 1 water. Infectious SVC and VHS virus was also re‐isolated from samples of food which were regurgitated by the herons at different times up to 120 min after feeding of contaminated fish. It was concluded that herons are able to act as mechanical vectors for IPN, VHS and SVC viruses and therefore, may be a potential source of infection and spread of the diseases.