OCCURRENCE OF INFECTIOUS PANCREATIC NECROSIS VIRUS (IPNV) IN FARMED RAINBOW TROUT (ONCHORHYNCHUS MYKISS) IN KOSOVO

This article describes the research carried out for the detection of viruses responsible for VHS, IHN and IPN diseases in farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Kosovo for the three-year period between 2006 and 2008. Losses are often reported in trout fingerlings, but no virus has ever been isolated in the rainbow trout in Kosovo. A research project was carried out to determine the occurrence of VHSV, IHNV & IPNV from the samples of fish tissue and ovarian fluids from mature broodfish. In total, 467 fishes from 113 (pools) in 10 rainbow trout aquaculture facilities were screened. Laboratory analysis was performed at the TGD (Tiergesundheitsdienst Bayern e. V) laboratory in Germany using the biomolecular method of RT-PCR and nested-PCR. The Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis virus was detected in seven trout farms, and prevalence from total samples (pools) was 11.5 %. This is the first research and report for IPN virus diagnosis in farmed rainbow trout fry, on-growing fish and broodfish in Kosovo. Keywords: Rainbow trout, viral diseases, IPN, RT-PCR, nested PCR