Spring viremia of carp virus: A RT-qPCR assay and surveillance in Ontario from 2008 to 2012

Spring viremia of carp (SVC) is a reportable contagious disease of fish that produces high economic losses in several species of fish, primarily in members of the family Cyprinidae. It is caused by a single-stranded negative-sense RNA virus. In 2006, SVC was first reported in Canada at Hamilton Harbour, Ontario; this remains the only report of SVC virus (SVCV) in Canada. A one-step reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was validated and used to test samples collected for surveillance between years 2008 and 2012. The assay was demonstrated to be specific and had a sensitivity of 50 copies of RNA or 1 × 10 exp 3 PFU/ml from spiked tissue samples. A total of 1432 fish, representing 31 different species, from 35 locations around Ontario were examined using the RT-qPCR assay. SVCV was not detected using RT-qPCR in any wild-caught fish examined.