TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL EASTERN FISH HEALTH WORKSHOP Royal Pavilion Resort, Atlantic Beach, NC MARCH 9-11, 1999 Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus And New England Atlantic Salmon Restoration Chris Ottinger U.S. Geological Survey/BRD, National Fish Health Research Laboratory, 1700 Leetown Road, Kearneysville WV, 25430 Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) is a highly infectious disease of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) caused by the orthomyxo-like virus ISAV. Horizontal transmission occurs in both fresh and salt water and a possible case of vertical transmission was recently reported. Subclinical fish may transmit the disease. The pathogen infects but does not produced mortality in other salmonids suggesting that carrier fish may serve as potential reservoirs. Originally restricted to Norway, ISA has been recently described among Atlantic salmon in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada, in Scotland, and in the Shetland Islands. Monitoring programs involving farms in Maine have yet to detect the virus. The ISA virus presents a unique threat to the New England Atlantic salmon restoration program. Existing diagnostics require the sacrifice of the host. Genetically important, sea-run Atlantic salmon that could harbor ISAV are held within federal facilities before they can be spawned. These individuals can not be sacrificed to determine infection status. Faliure to detect infected fish may result in contamination of facilities and the spread of the pathogen. Researchers at the National Fish Health Research Laboratory have proposed the development of rapid non-lethal diagnostics for the detection of ISAV infected Atlantic salmon. In this presentation the proposed ELISA-based diagnostics and the rationale for their development are described. Return to 24th Annual Eastern Fish Health Workshop Return to Leetown Science Center Home Page