First report of ictavirus acipenseridallo2 (AciHV-2) in Danube sturgeons Acipenser gueldenstaedtii in Austria

Newly stocked Danube sturgeons Acipenser gueldenstaedtii developed cutaneous lesions and nearly 100% mortality over the course of 2 mo after introduction into an Austrian fish farm. Necropsy revealed cutaneous plaques and hemorrhages, and histological findings in skin, gills, spleen and kidney tissues showed cell-nucleus alterations consistent with infection by a herpesvirus. The presence of a herpesvirus was demonstrated by the visualization of numerous typical viral particles in different tissues by electron microscopy. A newly developed conventional PCR protocol, targeting a fragment of the viral DNA polymerase gene, further confirmed the presence of a virus related to the species Ictavirus acipenseridallo2 (formerly Acipenserid herpesvirus-2; AciHV-2) in the diseased fish. Amplification products were sequenced and showed 100% identity to the Siberian sturgeon herpesvirus (SbSHV) strain. This is the first report of herpesvirus detection in sturgeon in Austria and of SbSHV, a strain of AciHV-2, in Danube sturgeons.