Detection of Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus from the Leeches Hemiclepsis marginata and Hirudo medicinalis.

Leeches have been reported to harbor several important fish pathogens, including spring viremia of carp virus, infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), and viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), and also may contain blood protozoa. In the present study, leeches were collected from water bodies located in Kurdistan province, Iran. The specimens were tested for IHNV, VHSV, and infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) using the PCR method.