Fish Health - KGHD (Koi Gill Haemorrhage Disease)

K.G.H.D. is suspected as a man made disease.

At first site this disease would pass for K.H.V. - white spot symptoms and gill fluke symptoms. The fish lay about listlessly but do not hang around water inlets, and their eyes sink.

Very few show any more external signs until the gills are inspected. These look as if they have been in a food blender. In heavily infected cases the gill chamber looks like its full of old yogurt.

If caught early enough, the gills show whitish patches as in K.H.V. or gill fluke and in some larger fish the infection would pass for branchiomyces (which is becoming a problem in heated systems as heat is needed to activate this disease)

K.G.H.D. has to be caught early or nothing works. The first signs are as for K.H.V. but you know you have not got the water temperature for that. The fish are laying around, swimming around as though they have lost the plot. In the latter stages the main identification is that the fish look as though short of oxygen.

I am of the opinion that fish arrive in this county with this disease, as death follows mostly within 3 weeks of purchase, taking the rest of the pond stock with them.

My findings seem to be showing that if the fish have received many antibiotics and hormones for reasons other than treatment (mainly growth and colour) then this is the cause of this disease. In other words it's man made! Now that's frightening.