The Koi Herpes Virus (abbreviated as KHV) is a deadly koi virus which has recently emerged in the Koi industry. Its first outbreak was confirmed in the late period of the year 1998, early in the year 1999 in Israel. Since its emergence, outbreaks have been reported all throughout the globe, especially in Europe, Asia and the United States.
The KHV is believed to remain with the infected fish for the rest of its life. The pets that have been exposed to the virus immediately become carriers! The mortality rate for the pets that have been exposed to this kind of virus would fall around 60 to 80 percent. These pets are susceptible to the virus. The only way to prevent your pets from getting infected by the koi virus is by making sure that your pets will never get exposed to it. Being knowledgeable about the koi virus would really slim the chances of making your pets get infected by the virus.
The Facts About The Virus:
A little has been gathered about the koi virus since its outbreak in 1998, and knowing the facts about this virus can prevent it from spreading into your pond. Once the pets have been exposed to virus, it will always be a carrier for the rest of its life. Even with the proper treatment, these pets should never be transferred to another pond to prevent the spreading of the infection. Temperature levels around 74 degrees Fahrenheit will activate the koi virus (a valuable information for testing to see if the pets really have the virus or not). Stress is not a cause of the koi virus, but it can cause the disease to gain a higher mortality rate. Spreading of the virus will occur if the pets will come in contact with an infected fish; if it will come into contact with the tools used in handling the infected pets; if it will be exposed to the water in which the infected ones swam in; and others. There’s no known cure for the KHV.
Preventative measures of the spreading of the KHV:
If your pets has been diagnosed with the virus, the only way to make sure that you don’t infect other pets is by depopulation. In here you eliminate your entire fish population. This is the best way so as to make sure that no other fish will ever catch the koi virus. When purchasing a fish, quarantine the new pets separately from your current population in a period not less than 15 days. With the knowledge of the exact temperature level to activate the disease (around 74 degrees Fahrenheit), this will allow you to expose your pets to the right conditions for the koi virus to show itself. Those that live in this conditions for this given period and don’t develop any symptoms have less chance of getting infected.
Quarantining your pets means totally isolating them; don’t allow anything to come near the infected ones, especially those items that may come into contact with the present population. Use separate food, tools and water for this one. Ensure that those tools you have used for your quarantined pets should just stay always in the area in which they were used. Proper hand washing procedures should also be observed when handling both the pets and their items within the same period of time. These steps can really help in the prevention of the spreading of this koi virus.
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