APHIS Veterinary Services  Implements An Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) Program     Otis Miller   USDA, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 46, Riverdale, MD     A Notice in the Federal Register of December 20, 2001, from the Office of the Secretary announced that an emergency threatens the livestock industry of this country, and USDA funds are available to establish an ISA program to address the threat to the U.S. salmonid industry.  Approximately $8.3 million has been authorized for APHIS VS to implement an ISA control and indemnity program for farm-raised salmon in the United States, effective as of December 13, 2001.   In addition to the payment of indemnity, these funds are to be used to assist the State of Maine with program activities such as:  depopulation and disposal, clean-up and disinfection, establishment of surveillance programs, epidemiology and diagnostic support, and training for producers and veterinarians.  Maine has taken steps to prevent the spread of ISA; however, Federal assistance is deemed necessary to effectively control this disease, which poses a threat to animal health and the U.S. economy.  ISA is a foreign animal disease of Atlantic salmon caused by an orthomyxovirus.  While this virus appears to cause disease only in Atlantic salmon (both wild and farmed), sea runbrown trout, rainbow trout, and other wild fish such as herring may act as carriers or reservoirs of the virus.  Clinical signs of ISA generally appear within 2 to 4 weeks after infection, and can include  lethargy, swelling and hemorrhaging of the kidneys and other organs, protruding eyes, pale gills, and swelling of the spleen.  Mortality is highly variable, ranging from 3 percent to more than 50 percent over one production cycle.  The ISA virus was first isolated in Noway in 1984, and has since been found in Scotland and Canada.  The first case of ISA in the United States was confirmed in Maine on February 15, 2001; in December 2001, 14 marine net pen sites were confirmed to have been infected.   Our goal is to control and contain the ISA virus through rapid detection and depopulation of salmon that have been infected with or exposed to ISA.  It is believed that the virus can be controlled within high-risk zones through surveillance, vaccination, and best management practices.  ISA control requires requires depopulation of all pens holding infected fish.  Indemnification is necessary to provide an incentive for salmon farmers to report diseased fish and to continue testing.