I don't think that any koi breeder should be trying to develop a KHV-immune strain. That should be left to the professionals. There are facilities which are designed, staffed and intended for doing this sort of thing and doing it safely.
The trouble is that KHV-immune koi may never rise to the top of the list of priorities at facilities which are equipped to do it correctly. It is unlikely to be done in the US because the economic impact does not justify the expense. The potential economic impact does exist in Japan so perhaps a Japanese institution will find agency or foundation funding for the work. The Israelis seem to be committed to the vaccine route. Vaccines can be sold indefinitely so it is not surprising that there is public and private funding available. An immune strain can only be sold (or otherwise released to the public domain) once and then everyone will have it. So, there is unlikely to ever be much private funding available for developing an immune strain unless it is through a foundation or cooperative.
James, you said:
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 Quote: if negative [via PCR] we need to do an ELISA to see if the fish has produced any antibodies in response to being exposed in anyway to the virus. |
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But, Spike said above that:
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Quote: We don’t know if all koi that survive a KHV outbreak develop antibodies (a/b) – we suspect they all won't but that many will. We don’t know if koi that develop a/b will become carriers – we suspect some will but don’t have a clue as to how many. We don’t know if koi that are carriers will test positive for a/b – we suspect some, or maybe even most, will but again don't have a good feel for what percentage. |
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You are not saying the same thing.
From what little I know of an ELISA test, the result is not always a 'yes' or a 'no', particularly for diseases we know so little about. The range of results is more like 'no, highly unlikely, somewhat unlikely, uncertain, likely, yes'. However, Spike is saying that the 'no' response may not exist for a KHV ELISA.
I am glad Spike reiterated that ELISA is just one tool in the KHV risk management bag-of-tricks and is not a panacea.
-stevehop kin