The ulcus-syndrome in cod (Gadus morhua). III. A preliminary virological report.

A bullet shaped virus presumably belonging to the Rhabdoviridae was isolated from a pool of 7 cods (Gadus morhua) with the ulcus-syndrome. This virus measured 55 x 175 nm. The virus caused CPE in PS (pike sarcoma) cells, but not in a number of other cell lines. From the same pool another virus was isolated in EPC (epithelia carp) cells. This virus was an icosahedron of 145 nm and most likely to be placed in the family Iridoviridae. Electronmicroscopic examination of papules from another 13 cods with the ulcus-syndrome failed to reveal any virus. Attempts to isolate virus from 33 individual cases of the ulcus-syndrome were successful in one single case only. The two viruses have not consistently been isolated from cods with the ulcus symdrome, but on the other hand they have never been isolated from cods without the ulcus-syndrome.