Weight-dependent susceptibility of tilapia to tilapia lake virus infection

The emergence of tilapia lake virus (TiLV) has had a severely negative impact on global tilapia aquaculture. TiLV infection has been reported at different life stages of tilapia, with more emphasis on fry and fingerlings; however, the virulence and pathology of TiLV at different tilapia size remains unexplored. In this study, tilapias from a single spawning were raised to 5 g, 25 g, and 65 g, and subsequently challenged by the intraperitoneal injection and cohabitation of a virulent strain of TiLV. The cumulative mortality, viral load, and histopathology of the fish were determined until 22 days post-infection (dpi). The cumulative mortality of the 5 g, 25 g, and 65 g fish was 85% (±1.67), 55% (±2.89), and 51.67% (±7.49), respectively. At 14 dpi, the mean TiLV load in the liver of the 5 g fish was significantly higher than in the 25 g and 65 g fish. All the weight groups showed severe pathological changes in the liver, spleen, and intestine after TiLV infection, but no particular difference was otherwise noted during the study with the exception of higher pathological scores in the liver of the small fish at 14 dpi. Overall, this study indicated that small fish are more susceptible to TiLV infection than large fish. Although multiple factors, including environmental factors, farm management practices, strains of virus could contribute to different susceptibility of fish to viral infection, the present study provides the evidence to support that fish weight affects the mortality and clinical outcome during TiLV infection. More intensive measures such as strict biosecurity and disease surveillance during the susceptible weight should therefore be emphasized to reduce the impact of this virus.