Infectious Hematopoietic

Necrosis In Atlantic Salmon

AMNA AFZAL
17130814-010
MSC 4-Zoology

Aqua culture and fisheries

Sir Shahid Mehmood

• Hematopoiesis refers to the
commitment and differentiation
processes that lead to the
formation of all blood cells
from hematopoietic stem cells.
• In adults, hematopoiesis occurs
mainly in the bone marrow
(medullary), but it can also occur in
other tissues such as the liver,
thymus and spleen
(extramedullary).
• the death of most or all of the cells in
an organ or tissue due to disease,
injury, or failure of the blood supply is
termed as necrosis.
History

• Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis has been a devastating disease of

farmed Atlantic salmon in BC, with two epizootics occurring in the last
12 years
• This disease has been documented in Pacific salmon for decades
preceding the development of commercial aquaculture and was most
likely introduced from the wild
• In the 2001–2003 epizootic, one-third to one half of the active
production sites were affected
• Mortality rates varied from 40% to 70% and approximately 12 million
farmed fish were affected
 IHN (INFECTIOUS HEMATOPIOTIC
NECROSIS)
• infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN), an emerging viral
disease that caused high mortality rates in farmed Atlantic
salmon (Salmo salar L.) at marine netpen sites in British
Columbia
• In 1992–1996 and 2001–2003, IHN occurred at epidemic
levels at Atlantic salmon farms.
• disease had been documented in Pacific salmon
(Oncorhynchus spp.)
• The BC salmon farming industry had to develop control
measures for this disease, including detailed biosecurity
protocols, to survive
THE 2001 IHN OUTBREAK
• Saksida reviewed the 2001–2003 IHN epizootic in BC (Saksida 2003).
• IHN virus (IHNV) was detected on 36 Atlantic salmon sites located in five of
the seven geographic farming regions.
• In affected farms, mortality rates averaged from 40% to 70%, with the
smallest fish most affected.
• The outbreak was brought under control in 23 months (Saksida 2003).
Affected companies voluntarily depopulated seven sites, tightened
biosecurity procedures as a control measure, or took both courses of
action
• 12 million fish died or were culled as a result of the outbreak, resulting in
millions of dollars lost in direct and indirect
• Management of IHN in Farmed Atlantic Salmon 157
• costs, most if not all of which were borne by the individual companies
(Saksida personal communication).
CONTINU….
• Industry undertook voluntary depopulation and other
measures to control the outbreak.
• Saksida (2003) did a review and analysis of potential risk
factors related to introduction and spread of the disease in
the most recent epizootic
• Industry made changes in husbandry practices, including
development of management protocols in conjunction with
BC MAFF
(British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries
BC MAFF)
The dynamics of disease transmission in the aquatic medium are
poorly understood. Improved biosecurity with respect to this disease
will require a multi-tiered, multiple stakeholder approach based on
sound aquatic animal health research and management practices
Grace A. Karaman, E-mail: karreman@shaw.ca
Alevin : a newly spawned salmon or trout still
carrying the yolk
• The symptoms of dropsy in fish is a distended or swollen body with
protruding scales. Dropsy is also known as ascites.
• The affected fish may appear lethargic and may not eat. Dropsy isn't a
disease itself, but actually a symptom of another underlying disease
in the fish.

•
Exophthalmia, also known as Popeye, is a type of
disease in which the eyes of a fish will bulge out, and will
appear cloudy or white. It may affect one eye or both
simultaneously. It results from swelling which occurs when
fluid from tissue leaks into the area at the rear of the eyeball.
Pressure grows due to the increase of fluid which pushes the
eyes outward.
Fish that become infected experience hemorrhaging of
their internal organs, skin, and muscle. Some fish show
no external symptoms, but others show signs of
infection that include bulging eyes, bloated abdomens,
bruised-looking reddish tints to the eyes, skin, gills and
fins.
RISK FACTORS
• Saksida (2003) identified three potential factors.
• 1. Because the diagnosis was confirmed by viral culture, which is
time-intensive, there was an average lag time of 15.7 days between
suspicion and confirmation of the diagnosis. Due to costs associated
with implementation of increased biosecurity, appropriate measures
were often not undertaken until after the diagnosis was confirmed.
• 2. The data implied that several stressors, such as poor water quality
(e.g., low dissolved oxygen levels, plankton blooms), concurrent
disease, and/or husbandry factors, such as fish handling, may have
been present prior to the onset of IHN.
• 3. There was no effective vaccine. Variable protection was seen in
fish vaccinated with a commercially manufactured autogenous
product prior to the outbreak
 6 MAJOR RISK FACTORS

1. Returning wild sockeye salmon may b cause of infection .

• Only when the salmon return to freshwater to spawn do they turn red.
Photograph by M2ichael Melford, Nat Geo Image Collection. Since they need
cold, clear waters to reproduce.
• disease transmission dynamics between farmed and wild fish are unknown,
experiments have shown that Atlantic salmon could be infected when
cohabiting with infected salmon (Traxler et al. 1993).
2. The likely route of transmission within a marine site was waterborne. In
addition, given tidal circulation patterns in BC,an affected site could also
provide the source for infection to the sites “downstream” from the first site
 Continu…
3. IHNV has been documented in other species that may have acted as
carriers of IHNV in the outbreak,
e.g., herring in the wild and in experimental challenge studies, in Chinook
salmon and in shiner perch (Cymatogaster aggregata) and tubesnout
(Aulorhynchus flavidus) (Kent et al. 1998; Kocan et al. 1997; Traxler et al.
1998; St-Hilaire et al. 2001; Traxler and Richard 1996)
• The disease transmission dynamics are unknown, but some of these species
were observed near fish farms during the epizootic

4. The risk of spreading IHN by moving Atlantic salmon within an infected

area was very high, particularly if tow pens were used.
• The same may have been true for converted fish boats/packers due to their
inability to completely seal water intakes or hatches
 Contin….
5. Shared equipment or movement of multi-use vessels may have
contributed to spread of the infection, due to lack of effective
disinfection by failure to move all infected organic material or water.

6. Although almost all harvest sites adhered to the disinfection protocol

for blood water and processing water (Ref BC MAFF 2004c), disinfection
efficacy may have been compromised by the level of organic material and
the reduced effectiveness of chlorine in seawater (Torgersen and Hastein
1995).
RECOMMENDATIONS for IHN
• veterinary study commissioned by the BC Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Fisheries (BC MAFF)
• investigate the descriptive epidemiology of the most recent outbreak
• evaluate the potential risk factors for the disease, and make
recommendations for its management
• to conduct research into wild fish health status and transmission
dynamics between wild and farmed fish
• to establish management zones
CONTIN…
• changes to methods of transporting fish including vessels
• changes to harvesting operations on-site, and disinfection of processing
plant discharge
• validate an RT-PCR for rapid detection and to develop an effective IHN
vaccine.
• reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test that can be
used directly on fish tissue and could supply results in less than 2 days.
• British Columbia MAFF does quarterly surveillance sampling on randomly
selected sites and checks farm records and for submissions to a third-party
fish health database.
• the federal governments have supported research efforts directed at
disease management and effective biosecurity
CONTIN….

• to equip vessels properly for transporting fish

• to develop industry-wide protocols for communications and
standardized biosecurity protocols for suppliers and visitors as well as
sites
• to develop and validate a test for early detection of IHNV, and to
develop an effective vaccine.
• The companies, working in conjunction with BC MAFF, suggested
practices to minimize risks beyond those listed in the BCSFA code of
practices
• These included protocols for isolation of affected sites, handling fish
on affected sites or within a positive zone, disinfection protocols, and
processing/harvesting of infected fish (BC MAFF 2004c
 Urgent researches required for:
• field validation of rapid detection techniques, particularly PCR
• investigation into viral source, spread, and transmission by,
• e.g.,
• identifying the routes of viral movement
• characterizing water currents around farms to assist in development of
biologically sensible quarantine or exclusion zones
• identifying sources and environmental sinks of IHNV—specifically, wild fish,
sea lice, biofouling (nets and boats), plankton, sediments, benthos (including
shellfish), and fecal material
Continu…..
• identifying spatial and temporal patterns of viral shedding.;
developing vaccines
conducting epidemiological studies, including
a. conducting an observational study to quantify risk of IHN mortality
at cage and site level, and
b. Conducting case-control studies of affected and unaffected farms
Prevention
• Avoiding the introduction of IHN-infected eggs and fish is the only
sure method of prevention
• The transfer of salmon or trout eggs or fish from California, Oregon,
Idaho, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska into areas where the
disease is not known to occur should be done with caution
• properly inspected stocks and should be thoroughly disinfected with
an organic iodine disinfectant both prior to and after shipment
(Amend and Pietsch 1972)
• organic iodine disinfectant solution that provides 100 ppm iodine at
pH 6.0 or higher for 10 min has been recommended (Amend 1974).
Organic iodine disinfection is not a guarantee against transfer of the
virus.
Alevin : a newly spawned salmon or trout still carrying the yolk.
• Temperature modification to prevent losses in chinook salmon is not
recommended because of the frequent occurrence of temperature-resistant
virus strains, high energy costs, and the post-exposure persistence of IHN
carriers (Amend, 1974).

• No drugs or chemicals are known that will halt outbreaks of IHN.

• heavy loading of eggs or fry in incubators is an important factor

• contributing to the severity of outbreaks, (According to Mulcahy (National
Fishery Research Center, Seattle, WA, personal communication)

• Water reuse, handling stresses and other adverse conditions increase the
impact of the disease on older fish.
Thanks