What is Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV)?
It is one of more than 100 naturally occurring viruses that affect fish but not warm-blooded animals. Origin is unknown, but it is related to a virus found in frogs and other amphibians and nearly identical to a virus isolated in fish imported to the United States for the aquarium trade. Although the virus apparently can be carried by other fish species, to date, it has produced disease only in largemouth bass. The virus is spread through contact with other infected fish or contaminated water. However, scientists still do not know why it causes disease in some fish and not others. In addition, they know of no cure or preventative, as is commonly the case with viruses. LMBV first gained attention in 1995, when it was implicated in a fish kill on Santee-Cooper Reservoir in South Carolina. Since then, the virus has been found in lakes and impoundments from Texas east to the Chesapeake Bay area, north as far as Vermont, and south into Florida. During 2000, LMBV was implicated as the source
