We all support KHV education campaigns for hobbyists and everyone in the marketing chain. But, education does not guarantee compliance.
That farmer in Vietnam wants to sell his 3-inch koi quickly before KHV hits again. His fish may pass through the tanks of wholesalers in Hanoi, Singapore and Los Angeles before they arrive at a pet store and are sold to a water gardener near you. At every step, the fish may be mixed with similar fish from other sources. At every step, they are trying to sell the fish quickly before they die. 'Quarantine' ain't in their vocabulary and diagnostics is out of the question.
As noted, getting the water gardener to do quarantine and diagnostics is going to be a hard sell because the fish can be replaced many times over for less than the cost of a quarantine system. Further, quarantine and diagnostics are just a hassle For others in the marketing chain (high-end dealers excluded), quarantine and diagnostics would create a competitive disadvantage and quickly push them away from koi.
In my humble opinion, there are only two ways this situation can play out.
1)
The emerging status quo. Voluntary quarantine and diagnostics for high-end fish but with occasional outbreaks nonetheless (at least until the diagnostics become bullet-proof). An unknown, and possibly large, number of undiagnosed outbreaks in water gardens.
2)
Bureaucratic intervention. Listing KHV as a reportable disease under O.I.E. and APHIS importation regulations similar to those for SVC. Voluntary quarantine and diagnostics for high-end fish with less-frequent outbreaks. A dramatic decrease in undiagnosed outbreaks in water gardens.
-s tev