PHV Confirmed in South African Sardine Mortality Event

Laboratory testing has confirmed the presence of pilchard herpesvirus (PHV) genetic material in sardines linked to the recent mass mortality event along South Africa's West Coast. However, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) says scientists have not yet established that the virus is responsible for the deaths. PHV was detected in dead sardines and at lower levels in some apparently healthy fish. Researchers are now investigating whether environmental factors such as harmful algal blooms, low oxygen levels, and unusual oceanographic conditions may have triggered or worsened the deaths. The department stressed that PHV is associated with sardines and there is currently no evidence that it infects humans or other animals.