A study of the susceptibility of Atlantic halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L.), to viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus isolated from turbot, Scophthalmus maximus (L.).

The susceptibility of Atlantic halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L.), to viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) was tested. Juvenile halibut of approximately 5 g weight were subjected to challenge by intraperitoneal injection, cohabitation and immersion to a VHSV isolate from an outbreak of the disease in turbot, Scophthalmus maximus (L.). The intraperitoneal injection gave the highest mortality rate of 28% after 50 days. The cohabitee group suffered 19% mortality rate and the immersion group only 2%. Control groups included turbot exposed either by intraperitoneal injection or immersion which suffered mortality rates of 93 and 50%, respectively. The results suggest that halibut are markedly less susceptible to VHSV than turbot.