Yume Koi hit with KHV

There is some rather sad and worrying news from Yumekoi declaring that they have recently had an outbreak of KHV (Koi Herpes Virus) confirmed with tests by CEFAS. The outbreak was discovered first in a customers Koi after the BKKS National show which was confined with others returning from the show to two quarantine ponds, but these contained the very best koi. Yumekoi are sole agents in the UK for Momotaro koi and also imported the Grand Champion winning koi from Takigawa.
All possible sources of the outbreak are being investigated and recent customers that might be at risk have been contacted. It's likely that the changes in temperature during the quarantine period triggered the virus to become active. Luckily only seven koi have died from the quarantine ponds and with the raising of the water temperatures the rest should survive. Every koi at Yumekoi is undergoing a blood test to be safe and any koi supplied or that came into contact with them is being offered testing.

" If you have any concerns about a Koi that was purchased from us in the last few months, and have a quarantine facility, we will be more than happy to come out to you to take a blood sample for ELISA (anti-body) testing. This test will indicate if the Koi have ever been exposed to KHV. A negative test result means that the Koi hasn't seen the virus, and hence, can be considered safe."

No other mortalities outside of Yumekoi have been reported, so hopefully this is just an isolated case. It must be especially worrying for all concerned but it shows that no-one can be complacent about this disease. This shows that the English style of benching at shows (each person showing has their own vat) is the only sensible way to hold a koi show and that quarantine procedures are vital. As with the outbreak at Momotaro farm, Yumekoi and Mike Snaden have acted honorably at this difficult time and I feel declaring this outbreak openly to the public has been the best policy.

" We are deeply sorry for any worry caused by bringing you this sad news, and promise to do our upmost to get to the bottom of it, and also to test each and every Kay here individually for anti-bodies so that we can put your minds at ease."