Why do Bluegills appear on lists of species that can and can not be infected experimentally?
We don’t know why sometimes lab fish can be infected; why sometimes it’s not. This may be explained by genetic differences in bluegill or potentially other Lab variability. What about the transfer of bilge/minnow bucket waters? Can it be eliminated as a cause? There are no experiments to confirm or deny transfer at this stage. Historically, most of these viruses are unstable in conditions away from the host making study very difficult. The virus is not believed to survive very long once it’s separated from the host. Have there been any disease or die-offs in hatcheries? There are rumors, and suspicions, but as yet, no confirmed cases. Some of these predate any awareness/scrutiny on LMBV. Certain symptoms appear to match, there is no confirmation. Is there any reason to believe that some unexplained fishkills in the last 5 years could be LMBV? Is it possible. LMBV is believed to have been present, but likely it’s been overlooked. Unfortunately, without isolating the virus we aren’t able
