BKKS declare KHV infection wasn't from their show

On the BKKS British Koi Keepers Society website there's a notice that the recent KHV (Koi Herpes Virus) outbreak was not picked up from the June BKKS National show. Yumekoi wasn't named but it's been made public about the outbreak and I haven't heard of any others so we can reliably guess who they are talking about. They suggest that the infection was more likely from a koi supplied to Yumekoi. They are confident that their biosecure procedures would have prevented any cross infection between koi from different owners.

Mike Snaden of Yumekoi has been traveling around the UK taking blood tests of koi he has recently sold to be sent to America in the hope of tracing the source of the infection. Mike and the BKKS seem to be in agreement that the cool water of the show vats must have triggered the outbreak. It only takes one individual koi that is a carrier of the disease but appears perfectly fine to infect and kill others that share the same water. The movement back to warmer waters of their homes would have been the perfect conditions for the disease to spread and overwhelm naive koi. The fact that only koi at the dealers premises have developed symptoms and died has suggested that the disease has been contained.

There was a feeling this would put a hold on further koi shows in the UK but the Mid Staffs and North East Koi shows went ahead this weekend as usual. With recent tightening of regulations governing animal movements they would appear more difficult to stage but the BKKS with it's high standards of health care and professionalism should help keep them going and dispel any myths that seem to circulate. It seems quite likely that KHV will become a notifiable disease and koi may not be available for sale at shows in the future but there is no reason for BKKS shows as they are not to continue.