National Reference Laboratories for Epizootic Hematopoietic Necrosis (EHN) and Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA)
Institute of Infectology
The national reference laboratory for EHN and ISA is located at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, and is responsible for coordinating and ensuring the diagnosis of the viral fish diseases EHN and ISA based on the German regulation on fish diseases and EU legislation. Council Directive 2006/88/EC dd. 24 October 2006 lists EHN as an exotic notifiable disease and ISA as a non-exotic fish disease.
Furthermore, the laboratory conducts phylogenetic analyses of the viral fish diseases Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis (IHN) and Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS).
Main research topics and projects
- Development of molecular diagnostic methods for detection of the viral pathogens of EHN, ISA, VHS, and IHN
- Genotyping of the causative agents of IHN and VHS
Overview of services
- Direct contact for federal and state authorities on the diagnosis of EHNV and ISAV
- Direct contact for federal and state authorities on genotyping of IHN and VHS virus
- Pathogen detection from sent-in samples
- Application and optimization of the standards, diagnostic procedures, and diagnostic reagents
- Testing, standardization, and improvement of test procedures for EHN and ISA detection
- Coordination of the standards and diagnostic procedures used by the veterinary authorities
- Molecular biological characterization of IHN and VHS isolates
- Organization of training measures for experts in laboratory diagnosis from veterinary authorities
- Participaton in comparative ring tests for EU Member States organized by the EU reference laboratory
- Annual report to the Community reference laboratory on epidemiological and laboratory data on the diagnosis and control of EHN and ISA
Reference material
- Virus isolates of EHN, ISA, IHN, and VHS
- Monoclonal antibodies against EHNV
- IHNV- and VHSV-specific antisera
Overview of methods
The standard procedures used by the NRL for EHN and ISA for detection of EHN and ISA and for genotyping of IHNV and VHSV are:
- Virus detection (cell culture, immunofluorescence)
- Genome detection (PCR, RT-PCR)
Other methods used by the laboratory
- Cell culture techniques
- Virus cultivation, purification and concentration
- Northern, Southern and Western blot
- Cloning and sequencing
- Transfection
- PCR, RT-PCR, real-time PCR
- Expression of viral genes in pro- and eukaryota
Relevant legislation
Council Directive 2006/88/EC on animal health requirements for aquaculture animals and products thereof, and on the prevention and control of certain diseases in aquatic animals (Official Journal of the EU No. L328 p. 14)
Commission Decision 2001/183/EC dd. 22 February 2001 laying down the sampling plans and diagnostic methods for the detection and confirmation of certain fish diseases and repealing Decision 927532/EEC. (Official Journal of the EU No. L 56 p. 65)
Regulation on fish diseases and regulation on the modification of the regulation on notifiable animal diseases dd. 22 November 2008 (Federal Gazette I p. 2315)
Regulation on notifiable animal diseases dd. 3 November 2004, last modified by the Second Regulation on the modification of animal disease regulations dd 18 December 2009.
in their latest version