Abstract

During the spring of 1991 several unrelated geographical areas in central Spain suffered specific high mortalities of common carp Cyprinus carpio L. An infectious agent was isolated from carps of all sizes and confirmed to be a virus causing cytopathic effect by cell culture, having characteristic rhabdovirus protein patterns and bullet-shape morphology by electron microscopy. Because of the species specificity (only carp were affected) and the positive immunofluorescence with specific antisera the virus has been tentatively identified as an isolate of the rhabdovirus causing the spring viraemia of the carp. The existence of a rhabdovirus causing death of carp represents the first report of this disease in Spain.