During the previous few days, the Institute of Marine Biology from Kotor received several notifications about dead and sick individuals of several types of mullet, as well as sea bass, from the area of the Bay of Kotor.
"Damage to the eyes, skin and other parts of the body can be observed on the fish. Some individuals were found after death, while some were still alive. It is almost certainly a VER viral infection (Viral Encephalopathy and Retinopathy) caused by viruses from the genus Betanodavirus ( family Nodaviridae). This infection affects a wide range of marine fish species in different regions of the world," the Institute for Marine Biology (IBMK) announced on the occasion.
From this scientific-research institution, they specified that for the final confirmation that it is a VER infection that affects these types of fish, it would be necessary to analyze the samples using the PCR method, which the scientists from Kotor will try to do in cooperation with colleagues who deal with this subject matter.
They specified that fish infected with this virus show signs of anorexia, blindness, darkening and damage to the skin, damage to the central nervous system, as well as irregular swimming and the inability to control the fish's bladder.
Groupers and sea bass are among the most valued types of fish among gastronomes and sport fishing enthusiasts.
"According to published scientific works, the occurrence of this infection was documented in the autumn period (September-December) and in other Mediterranean countries. The spread of this infection in carps and sea bass was mainly documented in conditions when the sea temperature was elevated (from 23 to 30 °C for sea bass ; 28 to 30 °C for different types of kernels)", they stated from IBMK.
Just such, even higher sea temperatures, marked this summer in Boka Kotorska, and record high sea temperatures were recorded along most of the eastern coast of the Adriatic.
The Institute states that for now little is known about the infection mechanism of these viruses, as if it remains unclear whether betanodaviruses can infect hosts other than fish.
"The possibility was investigated whether a virus from one type of keratovirus can infect human cells. It was shown that it can bind to a human cell, but not enter it. Accordingly, it is believed that betanodavirus in its current form cannot infect humans cells. For the sake of prevention, the consumption of fish infected with this virus is not recommended," said the IBMK, expressing their gratitude to fishermen Sav Ćetković and Nikola Cvitković for the provided material, and inviting all other sea lovers to "give information about this phenomenon delivered to the Institute".
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