UK presses ahead with KHV notification

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The KHV disease manages to confound experts who continue to strive to find the best ways of not just diagnosing the disease, but of preventing, controlling and treating it.Much has been written and said about the Koi Herpes Virus disease (KHV) over the last nine years, following the first certified outbreak in Israel way back in 1998. Progress has been made, but as one of the representatives from the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) emphasised at the third conference of the Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA) held recently in Coventry England. We still don't have all the answers (cf. PET in Europe 3-4/2007). DEFRA warns that, although it is very important to obtain these answers, government funds for the work that is needed are limited. There is therefore a need for cooperation with the ornamental aquatic industry to tackle the challenge.KHV was declared a notifiable disease by the World Organisation for Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties - OIE) last May. While this means that any outbreaks of the disease must now be reported to the OIE, this does not necessarily mean that the disease is as yet notifiable within individual countries. In fact, KHV is currently notifiable in just three countries: Australia, Germany and Japan.For a disease to become notifiable within a country, specific national legislation needs to be put in place. Steps in this direction, which were initiated by the UK government in July 2006, are therefore being followed up by DEFRA with a consultation document that was circulated to all interested parties at the end of October/beginning of November 2006. This move is necessary, not just for legal reasons, but also because there are currently no EU or national legislative measures in force regarding KHV. This is something that DEFRA feels limits the ability of the UK to place any restrictions on trade. Indeed, even though the OIE made the disease notifiable, it has yet to develop international diagnosis and screening standards which will demonstrate the presence or absence of KHV in fish.The UK angling fraternity, the Angling Traders Association (ATA), has welcomed the government's decision to press ahead with its plans to make KHV notifiable. The association claims that, despite the existence of legislative steps regarding the introduction of fish stocks for angling purposes, a very high percentage - estimated to be around 50…