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Koi Herpesvirus (KHV): Notification and Control Arrangements
Dear Sir/Madam
KOI HERPESVIRUS (KHV): NOTIFICATION AND CONTROL ARRANGEMENTS
1. I am writing to inform you of the intention of Defra Ministers to make Koi herpesvirus disease notifiable in
England, and to invite your comments on the type of disease control arrangements that might operate as a consequence
of making the disease notifiable.
2. I enclose at Annex A a copy of the draft Statutory Instrument we propose should be made under section 13(1) of the
Diseases of Fish Act 1937 (as amended). The practical effect of this would be to
(a) place a legal obligation on any party to notify Defra (and/or its agents) of suspicion of the presence of KHV; and
(b) give Ministers the powers to enable them to determine whether or not to designate waters as infected on confirmation of
KHV disease and whether or not to apply movement restrictions in respect of those waters as a result.
3. I enclose at Annex B a paper outlining a number of possible options for controlling outbreaks of the disease.
4. I enclose at Annex C, a draft Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) on possible consequences of making the disease notifiable and
choosing the various options for controlling it discussed in Annex B.
Reasons for action
5. Up until 2006 there had been only a small number of instances of disease outbreaks where KHV had been implicated as the cause
of mortality of common and koi carp in managed fisheries. This summer, possibly as a result of good weather and corresponding high
water temperatures, KHV disease has been confirmed in carp at a total of 23 fishery sites in England. Mortality due to KHV infection
can be very high and this year some sites reported dead fish numbering in the thousands.
6. KHV disease primarily affects common and koi carp and it has been found to be widespread in some countries. It is temperature dependent,
only expressing itself above 15°C and below 28oC. However, even within that temperature range clinical signs of the disease may not occur for
an assortment of reasons including good environmental or stock management conditions acting as a counter to the effects of temperature, and/or
possibly higher resistance to the disease in some genetic strains of carp.
7. Like all herpes viruses, KHV can be latent within a host and difficult to identify using current testing techniques. Defra, recognising
the importance of the disease in terms of potential impacts on farmed and wild populations of carp, has, over the past 5 years, funded a £1.3m
research programme to improve diagnostic tests including the development of non-lethal screening tests to avoid the destruction of valuable
adult fish.
8. There are currently no specific EU or National legislative controls in respect of KHV disease, which limits the ability of the UK to place
restrictions on trade. However, a new EU Directive on Aquatic Animal Health, due to be agreed by the Council of Ministers this October,
will list KHV as a disease for Community-wide control. The new measure will apply from the Autumn of 2008 and Member States will, before then,
have to decide on the approaches they wish to adopt for disease control, ranging from containment to initiating eradication programmes and
establishing freedom from a disease. These options may apply to whole or parts of territories.
9. The World Organisation for Animal Health (known as the OIE) added KHV disease to the list of diseases included in the Aquatic Animal
Health Code in May 2006 but it has yet to develop international standards for its diagnosis and for screening of fish to demonstrate absence
of the virus.
This Summer’s experience
10. The Environment Agency and the Cefas Fish Health Inspectorate have worked closely to investigate outbreaks of KHV disease and in order
to prevent further spread the Environment Agency have not been consenting the introduction of fish to waters from affected sites or contact
sites. In the case of the latter the Environment Agency have been granting consents where they have assessed the risk of spread of KHV to be
low. These arrangements are being kept under constant review in the light of developing knowledge about the most effective means of tackling
this disease.
11. We have anecdotal evidence to suggest that there may have been mortalities at other sites that were not reported. Any mortality events,
if not investigated, increase the risk of spread of KHV and other significant fish diseases. We would ask all site owners/managers to co-operate
fully in reporting unusual mortalities and remind them that they have a legal obligation to report the incidence of any notifiable disease
to the authorities. Defra, Cefas and the Environment Agency would like to thank those responsible fishery owners and managers who had no
hesitation in notifying mortality problems on their sites as soon as they occurred so that action could be taken to identify and control
disease.
What next?
12. We need to develop a relevant and cost effective control policy for KHV disease to complement the action we are taking to make the disease
notifiable and the models outlined in Annex B provide an example of the kind of arrangements that might be considered.
13. You should also be aware that no additional Government funding is currently available for the operation of future control arrangements
for the disease. In these circumstances the cost of any regime may have to be shared between sectors of the industry including those who use
fisheries. It is therefore in everyone’s interest that we develop the most cost effective control policy focussing primarily on the
identification of KHV infection where it exists and measures to reduce the risk of spread of the disease with minimal disruption to commercial
operations.
Comments and suggestions
14. Please consider carefully the documents attached to this letter at Annexes A, B and C and let us have your views on them by 30 January 2007
at the latest. However it would be very helpful if you could let us have your views much sooner than that, if possible before Christmas. All
comments should be sent to Joe Parsons, VEROD, Area 108, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ (Tel no: 020 7904 6540) (or by email
fishhealth@defra.gsi.gov.uk).
15. In line with Defra's policy of openness, copies of the responses we receive may be made publicly available at the end of the consultation
period through the:
Defra Information Resource Centre
Lower Ground Floor
Ergon House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
16. If you do not consent to this, you must clearly request that your response be treated confidentially. Any confidentiality disclaimer generated
by your IT system in email responses will not be treated as such a request. You should also be aware that there may be circumstances in which
Defra will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
17. The Information Resource Centre will supply copies of consultation responses to personal callers or in response to telephone or email requests
(tel: 020 7238 6575, email: defra.library@defra.gsi.gov.uk). Wherever possible, personal callers should give the library at least 24 hours' notice
of their requirements. An administrative charge will be made to cover photocopying and postage costs.
18. Comments or complaints about the consultation process (as opposed to comments about the issues which are the subject of this consultation
exercise) should be addressed to:
Defra’s Consultation Co-ordinator
Area 7D
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR
Email: consultation.coordinator@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Stakeholder forum
19. You may wish to be aware that Defra has established a Steering Group on KHV to consider control arrangements for the disease in more detail.
The group comprises representatives from government and those interests most concerned to control the impact of KHV (importer, supplier, farmer,
fishery owner). The group had its inaugural meeting at the end of September and will meet again in December to consider reactions received by
then to this consulation. We expect that the Steering Group will also remain in existence until we have agreed a way forward.
Yours faithfully
David Mullin
David Mullin
Head of the Fish Health Unit
Veterinary Exotic Diseases,
Research & Official Controls Division (Team G)
Distribution
Distribution list
Annexes
Annex A
Annex B
Annex C
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