The Fish Health Unit (FHU) has a modern, well equipped laboratory which facilitates its national and international commitments in relation to the diagnosis and control of fish and shellfish diseases. There are five main sections within the unit: parasitology, histology, bacteriology, virology and molecular diagnostics.
Parasitology:
- Gross pathology and necropsy,
- Wet mount preparations.
Histology/histopathology:
- Sampling and fixation of fish, shellfish and crustaceans for histopathological diagnosis,
- Histology slide preparation and staining, including storage for retrospective analysis.
Microbiology:
- Bacterial identification using primary and secondary identification techniques as, well as serological tests such as ELISA,
- Testing for the residues of antimicrobials in fish muscle tissues.
Virology:
- Identification of viral pathogens using CHSE, BF-2, EPC, TO, SHK, KF-1 cell lines,
- Monitoring for the presence of VHSV, IHNV and SVCV under active surveillance programmes,
- Isolation of IPNV and Salmonid alphavirus (causing pancreas disease),
- Serological identification of SAV in fish serum,
- Ability to identify the exotic virus, ISAV.
Molecular Diagnosis:
- Identification of all listed pathogens by PCR or RT-PCR,
- In situ hybridisation for the diagnosis of B. ostreae.