Assessment of a commercial kit collection for diagnosis of the fish viruses: IHNV, IPNV, SVCV and VHSV.

A commercial kit collection for the detection of the fish pathogenic viruses, VHSV, IHNV, IPNV, and SVCV, was assessed for its ability to detect isolates in selected panels of the respective viruses. The kit collection, which was based on fluorescence staining of infected cell cultures in tissue culture plates, fulfilled the promised requirements for the IHN kit only. The IPN, the SVC and especially the VHS kit were lacking in either specificity or sensitivity. The findings stress the need for commercial companies to carry out proper validation before market release.