Antibody Against Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus Among Feral Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

Archived sera from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that returned to the Penobscot River (Maine), Merrimack River (Massachusetts), and Connecticut River (in Massachusetts) from 1995 until 2002 were analyzed for antibodies against Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISAV)using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A maximum of 60 samples were archived per river system per year. In any given year, the number of fish sampled by ELISA for ISAV-antibodies in the Penobscot River ranged from 2.9–11.2%, whereas the range of salmon sampled was between 31.3–100% and 20.0–67.5% in the Merrimack River and the Connecticut River, respectively. Archived sera were not available for the 1995 and 2002 year classes from the Connecticut River. A total of 1,141 samples were processed and 14 serum samples tested positive for antibodies to ISAV. In the Penobscot River, serum from one fish tested positive in each of the 1995 and 1999 year class returns and sera from two fish tested positive in the 1998 returns. In the Merrimack River, sera from four fish tested positive in each of the 1996 and 1997 returns and sera from two fish were positive in the 2002 return. None of the archived sera from Atlantic salmon that returned to the Connecticut River tested positive.