Ichthyophonus hoferi Plehn & Mulsow in British Columbia stocks of Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi Valenciennes, and its infectivity to chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum)

Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi Valenciennes, collected from three areas of coastal British Columbia were screened for Ichthyophonus by histological examination. The infectivity of Ichthyophonus to juvenile chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), was examined in laboratory studies. Ichthyophonus was detected in a total of 82 of 356 herring from all three areas. Prevalence in 2000 and 2001 ranged from 10.5 to 52.5% and was significantly lower in more northern (Hecate Strait) samples. Ichthyophonus was detected by histological examination in chinook salmon following oral or intraperitoneal (i.p.) exposure to homogenates of infected herring tissue. Infections in Yukon stock chinook salmon were occasionally associated with mortality and with inflammation in all tissues examined. Infections were detected significantly more frequently in the caecal mesenteries of i.p.-infected compared with oral-infected chinook salmon. The distribution and prevalence of Ichthyophonus isolates among diverse host species may assist in stock identification and in an improved understanding of trophic interactions.