Inhibition of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus infectivity by extracts of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, tissue

Extracts of healthy rainbow trout liver, kidney, spleen and whole fry inhibited plaque production of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) in cell cultures. The mode of inhibition is not known, although it appears not to be manifest at the cellular level, as pre‐treatment of the cell cultures with tissue extracts did not inhibit plaque production. Any effect on the virus itself was not permanent as the inhibition could be mitigated by treatment of virus/extract mixtures with 1,1,2‐trichloro‐1,1,2‐trifluoroethane. The inhibition may be caused by prevention or reduction of virus attachment to the cell surface or, alternatively, the tissue extract may cause aggregation of the virus and thereby reduce the number of available infectious units. The inhibitory effect is also lost by dilution of the extract, reinforcing the claim that adequate dilutions of fish extracts prior to attempted virus isolation are necessary, especially for the detection of carrier fish.