Reactivation of koi herpesvirus infections in common carp Cyprinus carpio

Two co-habitation studies with common carp were conducted to determine whether latent infections of koi herpesvirus (KHV) exist. Fish were exposed to KHV using 2 different temperature profiles, which induced low and high initial mortality. Subsequently, certain groups of fish were co-habited with naïve fish while others were not. Koi herpesvirus was reactivated in fish from 3 of the 5 experimental tanks. Reactivation of the virus occurred regardless of the initial mortality associated with the virus or whether fish were co-habited with naïve fish. The reactivation of the virus in our experiments occurred several months after the initial exposure to KHV and appeared to be temperature dependent.