| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>The mode of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) transmission in the Great Lakes basin is largely unknown. In order to assess the potential role of macroinvertebrates in VHSV transmission, <it>Diporeia </it>spp., a group of amphipods that are preyed upon by a number of susceptible Great Lakes fishes, were collected from seven locations in four of the Great Lakes and analyzed for the presence of VHSV. It was demonstrated that VHSV is present in some <it>Diporeia </it>spp. samples collected from lakes Ontario, Huron, and Michigan, but not from Lake Superior. Phylogenetic comparison of partial nucleoprotein (N) gene sequences (737 base pairs) of the five isolates to sequences of 13 other VHSV strains showed the clustering of <it>Diporeia </it>spp. isolates with the VHSV genotype IVb. This study reports the first incidence of a fish-pathogenic rhabdovirus being isolated from <it>Diporeia</it>, or any other crustacean and underscores the role macroinvertebrates may play in VHSV ecology.</p>
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