Vaccine for KHV?

[kiky]

In the latest issue of KOI USA, there is an advertisement by .........(I purposely donot mention name) from Israel, in which they claimed that they have been selling 'super health' kois all over the world. These kois are vaccinated against KHV, so that they will never be affected by the virus again. Now, for hobbyists in countries that have experienced an outbreak of KHV, this is indeed big news,

But I have no idea how valid is this claim. Has anbody ever bought, or seen some of these supposedly super health koi? I would be very interested to know.

[dick benbow]

I don't have a hard and fast answer for you. I wish i did. here are some thoughts to ponder.

This product has been out for several years.

the world is known to beat a path to your door if you build a better mousetrap.


because of what has happened in the past, most are skeptical.


I don't have an MD after my name but I know a few Dr's who read this board. It would be nice to get their input on the nature of Viruses and immunization.

[bekko]

"These kois are vaccinated against KHV, so that they will never be affected by the virus again."

The question may be whether, having been exposed, will transmit KHV to other fish in your pond.

-steve

[Tony Prew]

The data from Israel , the way I understand it explains a procedure which involves exsposing koi to the virus and then manipulating the water temperature in order to control the exsposure to the virus, allowing the koi to develope an immunity to the virus. The testimony offers a method in which to verify that the koi are not carriers of the virus and in fact by attempting to re-infect the koi that they are immune to the virus. As with any report such as this I tend to play it safe and allow years to pass and collect any follow up data to substantiate the claim before putting my koi at risk

[dick benbow]

just a quick note to let those who do not know of Tony.. . A long time Koi-kichi, hobbyist,dealer,active ZNA member, lots of trips to Japan, close friendship ties to many fine breeders.

Sometimes knowing someone's background helps to weigh the amount of impotance on what has been said.

[kiky]

In summay then, without meaning to challenge the claim, it is better to play safe right?

For Steve: In the sentense ".............., so that they will never be affected by the virus again", I think I have to delete the word "again". This word implies that the koi has been affected before; while in the advertisement it is not presented that way. Unless of course if what Tony explained is the true method of the immunisation process!

[Tony Prew]

Give me a couple of days to find the article, as I have my good friend and breeder Masaharu Hoshino visiting with me for a couple days. I am getting his advice on mud pond size and placement at new property I am developing. I wish to create a view that reminds us of the mud ponds in Niigata
I will have some information about present activities in Niigata soon

Best Wishes

Tony

[Hilary]

In humans if you have been exposed to a virus you can pass it on to someone else even though you may not suffer from it yourself.

If the same holds true for the fish, and I do not see why it should be different, these fish may not suffer but could be carriers.

Can anyone clarify this?

[RayJordan]

I have placed several KHV research and other types of KHV articles on the AKCA - PROJECT KHV website. One of the best for everyone to review the the World Symposium on KHV that was held in London last year. Especially read the Q & A section. There is too much we don't know about KHV yet. In response to this thread the Isrealis used a series of modified exposures of young carp/koi to KHV infected fish at a controlled temp and for a specific lenght of time. Before the young koi/carp got sick they heated the water to about 85F for a week. They placed the young koi/carp through several of these cycles of exposure and heating to produce KHV resistant koi/carp.

The overall losses using this method were too high so they have created a live KHV vaccine which they are now using/testing. Live vaccines can not be used in the U.S. and many other countries. If you want to see the data that has been published it is on the Project KHV website as well. Go to www.akca.org and click on the Project KHV link then click on the KHV Articles link.

While you are there please consider making a contribution to Project KHV. 100% of all contributions will go to KHV research. Also AKCA is matching the first $50,000 in contributions so your early contributions will be doubled. As of today we have almost $48,000 in funds that will be donated to targeted KHV research programs.

[MikeM]

Ray: You are doing a great job never letting us forget about this project. Keep it up. Every koikeeper needs to do their part to eventually eliminate KHV. Contributing to the KHV research is an easy way to help the effort.

All Lurkers & Posters: KHV is a threat that is not going away. We all have to do our part or our hobby will become an historical anachronism someday.