A new virus that attacks both farmed and wild tilapia has been identified by a team of international researchers. Tilapia is one of the most widely consumed inexpensive proteins globally. The virus, called the Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV), is said by the researchers to be the cause of the mass die-offs of the fish which occurred in Israel and Ecuador in the last few years. A paper produced on the virus by the research team lays out a plan for developing a vaccine to protect the global tilapia supplies from contracting TiLV. According to Phys.org: “Tilapia is one of the most important fish industries worldwide,” says Eran Bacharach, a molecular virologist at Tel Aviv University in Israel and one of the lead researchers on the study. “Moreover, because they eat algae, they are ecological gatekeepers for freshwater and they are an inexpensive, important source of protein in poorer countries.” The tilapia industry is valued at US $7.5 billion each year. Various countries in Asia and South America are the largest tilapia producers and the United States is the largest importer, consuming 225,000 tons of these fish each year. In 2009, both wild tilapia species in Kinneret Lake, also known as the Sea [...]