A rhabdoviral disease occurred in farmed populations of market sized Japanese flounder (hirame) Paralichthys olivaceus in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan in 1996. The causative agent was identified as viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) based on morphological, immunological, and genetic analyses. Diseased fish that were artificially injected with a representative virus isolate showed the same pathological signs and high mortality as observed in the natural outbreak. This is the first report of an outbreak of VHSV infection in cultured fish in Japan. Clinical signs of diseased fish included dark body coloration, an expanded abdomen due to ascites, congested liver, splenomegaly, and a swollen kidney. Myocardial necrosis was most prominent and accompanied by inflammatory reactions. Necrotic lesions also occurred in the liver, spleen and hematopoietic tissue, and were accompanied by circulatory disturbances due to cardiac failure. Hemorrhagic lesions did not always appear in the lateral musculature. Transmission electron microscopy revealed many rhabdovirus particles and associated inclusion bodies containing nucleocapsids in the necrotized myocardium. The histopathological findings indicated that the necrotizing myocarditis could be considered a pathognomonic sign of VHSV infection in Japanese flounder.KEY WORDS: Viral hemorrhagic septicemia · Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus · Paralichthys olivaceus · Japanese flounder · Hirame · Necrotizing myocarditis Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 47: [87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99] 2001 Japan during a survey on the distribution of fish viruses in wild marine fishes (Takano et al. 2000).Clinical signs and histopathological features of VHSV infection in some freshwater and marine fishes resemble those in rainbow trout. A common feature is the widespread hemorrhaging in the external and internal organs, although the severity of hemorrhaging varies among fish species. Rainbow trout displays most severe hemorrhagic lesions in the lateral musculature (Yasutake & Rasmussen 1968, Yasutake 1970, 1975, Horlyck et al. 1984, Smail & Munro 1989. Hemorrhagic lesions are also evident in pike Esox lucius (Meier & Jørgensen 1980), sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax (Castric & de Kinkelin 1984) and turbot (Ross et al. 1994), but are less obvious in Pacific herring (Kocan et al. 1997). Histopathologically, necrotic changes are observed in various visceral organs incluging the liver, spleen, hematopoietic tissue and pancreatic acini in many fish species except Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus, which displays only dermal lesions (Meyers et al. 1992).VHSV is a member of the family Rhabdoviridae, genus Novirhabdovirus, to which infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) and hirame rhabdovirus (HIRRV) belong (Walker et al. 2000). HIRRV, the causative agent of the HIRRV disease (HIRRVD), was widely distributed in farmed hirame and other marine fishes in Japan , Nishizawa et al. 1991. HIRRV caused mass mor...

Influenza A viruses of different subtypes were isolated from fecal samples of ducks in their nesting areas in Siberia in summer from 1996 to 1998. Phylogenetic analysis of the NP genes of the isolates in Siberia and those in Hokkaido, Japan on their flyway of migration from Siberia to the south in autumn revealed that they belong to the Eurasian lineage of avian influenza viruses. It is noted that the genes of the isolates in Siberia are closely related to those of H5N1 influenza virus strains isolated from chickens and humans in Hong Kong in 1997 as well as to those of isolates from domestic birds in southern China. The results indicate that influenza viruses perpetuated in ducks nesting in Siberia should have contributed genes in the emergence of the H5N1 virus in Hong Kong. Vaccine prepared from avirulent A/duck/Hokkaido/4/96 (H5N3) influenza virus was potent enough to protect mice from challenge with lethal dose of the pathogenic H5N1 virus [19]. Intensive surveillance study of aquatic birds especially in Siberia is, therefore, stressed to provide information on the future pandemic influenza virus strains and for vaccine preparation.

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Background Magnetic compression anastomosis (MCA) is a revolutionary, minimally invasive method of performing choledochoenterostomy or choledochocholedochostomy without using surgical techniques in patients with biliary stricture or obstruction. Herein, we describe a case series of MCA for severe biliary stricture or obstruction, which could not be treated with conventional therapies. Patients and methods Two patients with biliary obstruction were treated using MCA for choledochocholedochostomy and choledochoenterostomy at Tokyo Medical University Hospital and Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center. Endoscopically, a samarium-cobalt (Sm-Co) rare-earth magnet was placed at the superior site of obstruction through the percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage route and another Sm-Co magnet was placed at the inferior site of obstruction. A comprehensive computeraided literature search for MCA was performed up to September 2009 by using MEDLINE and EMBASE. Results MCA techniques enabled complete anastomosis in both cases without procedure-related complications. Conclusions The MCA technique is a revolutionary method of performing choledochocholedochostomy and choledochoenterostomy interventionally in patients with biliary obstruction, for whom the conventional endoscopic procedure is not available, or in candidates who are deemed unsuitable for surgery.

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