Largemouth Bass Virus     John A. Plumb   Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Auburn University, Alabama     Largemouth bass virus (LMBV), initially isolated from moribund, adult largemouth bass in a reservoir in Southeastern United States in the summer of 1995, is classified in the genus Ranavirus, family Iridoviridae. The known geographical range of LMBV reaches from North Carolina south to Florida in the east, and westward to Texas and Oklahoma; there is a single report from a lake on the Michigan-Indiana border. The virus has been isolated from clinically diseased wild largemouth bass in which mortality occurred as well as ostensibly healthy fish. LMBV has also been isolated from hatchery populations but no clinical disease has been reported in these situations. Other than its propensity to infect "trophy" size fish, the impact of LMBV on largemouth bass populations is not clear, however, antidotal evidence indicates a reduction of fish in excess of 2.5 K in reservoirs following epizootics associated with LMBV. Other pathogens have been implicated with LMBV infections and the virus has also been isolated from several other centrarchid species. Since LMBV can be isolated from asymptomatic fish as well as those expressing clinical disease, a carrier state involving infectious virus occurs. These factors lead to the possibility that inspection to determine if LMBV exists in largemouth bass prior to their movement to areas in which the virus is unknown may inhibit further geographical expansion. With these factors in mind it may be prudent for regulatory agencies to consider inclusion of LMBV on the list of infectious agents subject to inspection prior to transport of largemouth bass via interstate or international shipment.