Minnesota fishes susceptible to VHSV

The list below is a convenient tool for identifying fishes of Minnesota waters that require VHSV testing but is not exhaustive. Certain species that are not endemic to Minnesota may not be listed but are available from the American Fisheries Society list linked below.

Additionally, the list is not conclusive. Many species likely are susceptible to infection with VHSV but have not been tested or identified in natural infections.

Additional species are included that have not been tested for VHSV-susceptibility but still require surveillance due to their common use for bait. These additional species are denoted by an asterisk (*) in the list below.

Abbreviated susceptible species list

Common name Scientific name
Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar
Black Crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus
Bluntnose Minnow Pimephales notatus
Brown Bullhead Ameiurus nebulosis
Brown Trout Salmo trutta
Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch
Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides
Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas
Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens
Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum
*Cisco/Tullibee/Herring *Coregonus sp
Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush
*Whitefish *Coregonus sp
Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides
Muskellunge Esox masquinongy
Northern Pike Esox lucius
Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
Rock Bass Ambloplites rupestris
Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus
Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu
*Smelts *Osmerus, Spirinchus, Hypomesus & Allosmerus sp
Spottail Shiner Notropis hudsonius
Steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss
Threespine Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus
Walleye Sander vitreus
White Bass Morone chrysops
White Perch Morone americana
Yellow Perch Perca flavescens

The list above is an abbreviated list of freshwater fishes determined to be susceptible to infection with the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus or requiring special testing for VHSV. It contains fish known to live in Minnesota waters and is adapted from the American Fisheries Society Fish Health Section Blue Book.

As of 2020, more than 100 species of freshwater and marine fish had been reported to be susceptible to VHSV infection in either natural infections or experimental infection trials. Susceptibility is based on conclusive scientific evidence of susceptibility as defined by the World Organization for Animal Health.

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