Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Below is a list of available Fish Health Program peer reviewed and published science.

Filter Total Items: 323

Health and condition of endangered young-of-the-year Lost River and Shortnose suckers relative to water quality in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2014–2015

Most mortality of endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, occurs within the first year of life. Juvenile suckers in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, survive longer and may even recruit to the spawning populations. In a previous (2013–2014) study, the health and condition of juvenile suckers and the dynamics of water
Authors
Summer M. Burdick, Carla M. Conway, Diane G. Elliott, Marshal S. Hoy, Amari Dolan-Caret, Carl O. Ostberg

Transmission routes maintaining a viral pathogen of steelhead trout within a complex multi-host assemblage

This is the first comprehensive region wide, spatially explicit epidemiologic analysis of surveillance data of the aquatic viral pathogen infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) infecting native salmonid fish. The pathogen has been documented in the freshwater ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest of North America since the 1950s, and the current report describes the disease ecology of IHNV du
Authors
Rachel Breyta, Ilana L. Brito, Paige Ferguson, Gael Kurath, Kerry A. Naish, Maureen K. Purcell, Andrew R. Wargo, Shannon L. LaDeau

Isolation and characterization of the fall Chinook aquareovirus

BackgroundSalmon are paramount to the economy, ecology, and history of the Pacific Northwest. Viruses constitute one of the major threats to salmon health and well-being, with more than twenty known virus species that infect salmon. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of the fall Chinook aquareovirus, a divergent member of the species Aquareovirus B within the family Reoviridae.Me
Authors
Negar Makhsous, Nicole L. Jensen, Katherine H. Haman, William N. Batts, Keith R. Jerome, James Winton, Alexander L. Greninger

Risk assessment for the reintroduction of anadromous salmonids upstream of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams, Northeastern Washington

The Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT; Spokane, Colville, Kootenai, Coeur d’Alene, and Kalispel Tribes) and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife want to reintroduce anadromous salmonids to their historical range to restore ecosystem function and lost cultural and spiritual relationships in the upper Columbia River, northeastern Washington. The UCUT contracted with the U.S. Geological Survey
Authors
Jill M. Hardiman, Rachel B. Breyta, Craig A. Haskell, Carl O. Ostberg, James R. Hatten, Patrick J. Connolly

Detection of Nanophyetus salmincola in water, snails, and fish tissues by quantitative polymerase chain reaction

We report the development and validation of two quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays to detect Nanophyetus salmincola DNA in water samples and in fish and snail tissues. Analytical and diagnostic validation demonstrated good sensitivity, specificity, and repeatability of both qPCR assays. The N. salmincola DNA copy number in kidney tissue was significantly correlated with metacercaria counts based on mi
Authors
Maureen K. Purcell, Rachel L. Powers, Bonnie Besijn, Paul K. Hershberger

Infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus

Infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a Rhabdovirus that causes significant disease in Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and rainbow and steelhead trout (O. mykiss). IHNV causes necrosis of the haematopoietic tissues, and consequently it was named infectious haematopoietic necrosis. This virus is waterborne and may transmit horizontally and vertically
Authors
Jo-Ann Leong, Gael Kurath

Influence of temperature on the efficacy of homologous and heterologous DNA vaccines against viral hemorrhagic septicemia in Pacific Herring

Homologous and heterologous (genogroup Ia) DNA vaccines against viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (genogroup IVa) conferred partial protection in Pacific Herring Clupea pallasii. Early protection at 2 weeks postvaccination (PV) was low and occurred only at an elevated temperature (12.6°C, 189 degree days), where the relative percent survival following viral exposure was similar for the two vaccin
Authors
Lucas Hart, Niels Lorenzen, Katja Einer-Jensen, Maureen K. Purcell, Paul Hershberger

Analytical validation of a reverse transcriptase droplet digital PCR (RT-ddPCR) for quantitative detection of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is an important pathogen of salmonid fishes. A validated universal reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assay that can quantify levels of IHNV in fish tissues has been previously reported. In the present study, we adapted the published set of IHNV primers and probe for use in a reverse-transcriptase droplet digital PCR (RT-ddPCR) assay for
Authors
Peng Jia, Maureen K. Purcell, Guang Pan, Jinjin Wang, Shifu Kan, Yin Liu, Xiaocong Zheng, Xiujie SHi, Junqiang He, Li Yu, Qunyi Hua, Tikang Lu, Wensheng Lan, James Winton, Ningyi Jin, Hong Liu

Optimization of a Plaque Neutralization Test (PNT) to identify the exposure history of Pacific Herring to viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV)

Methods for a plaque neutralization test (PNT) were optimized for the detection and quantification of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) neutralizing activity in the plasma of Pacific Herring Clupea pallasii. The PNT was complement dependent, as neutralizing activity was attenuated by heat inactivation; further, neutralizing activity was mostly restored by the addition of exogenous compleme
Authors
Lucas Hart, Ashley MacKenzie, Maureen K. Purcell, Rachel L. Thompson, Paul Hershberger

Pufferfish mortality associated with novel polar marine toxins in Hawaii

Fish die-offs are important signals in tropical marine ecosystems. In 2010, a mass mortality of pufferfish in Hawaii (USA) was dominated by Arothron hispidus showing aberrant neurological behaviors. Using pathology, toxinology, and field surveys, we implicated a series of novel, polar, marine toxins as a likely cause of this mass mortality. Our findings are striking in that (1) a marine toxin was
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Perer D. R. Moeller, Kevin R. Beauchesne, Julie Dagenais, Renee Breeden, Robert Rameyer, Willliam A. Walsh, Melanie Abecassis, Donald R. Kobayashi, Carla M. Conway, James Winton
Was this page helpful?