Norwegian experts disagree about ISA
Last Thursday and Friday the private laboratory specialized in salmon disease screening, ADL Diagnostic Chile hosted and international seminar to bring together experts on the two diseases that most concern Chile's salmon industry at the moment - ISA and the alphaviruses that lead to Pacreatic Disease. It is an accepted fact that ISA is in the country to stay as is the case in most other salmon producing countries, but the task at hand is how to best prevent it from spreading further. This is the point where two to the guest speakers, Dr. Are Nylund from the Dept. of Biology of the University of Bergen and Dr. Peder Jansen of the National Veterinary Institute of Bergen locked horns. Dr. Nylund demonstrated in his presentation that the ISA virus in Chile has most likely spread through vertical transmission (from the egg on up). Dr. Jansen presented just the opposite, showing that the virus is transmitted horizontally (fish to fish). Both Nylund and Jansen held fast to their theories, provoking a heated discussion between the two, and as for those attending the seminar, one was left to decide for him/herself how the virus is transmitted. As for the heightening concern about the arrival of PD (pancreatic disease) to Chile, the essential point of the seminar is that if Chile can change its management practices to mitigate ISA, these same practices will apply for the prevention or control of PD and other diseases as well.
