News

The Polar bear that killed a 17 year-old British boy and injured four others in Svalbard, Norway suffered from severe tooth pain.

The overall objective in this project is to provide knowledge that will lead to reduced losses caused by Parvicapsula pseudobranchicola in the Norwegian aquaculture industry.

Outbreaks of botulism in commercial chicken flocks have occurred in Norway and Sweden in recent years and may result in extensive losses of birds but the reasons for why outbreaks occur remains unknown. The National Veterinary Institute in Oslo in collaboration with the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science and the National Veterinary Institute in Uppsala have received funding to examine the exent to which Clostridium botulinum exists within healthy chicken flocks and which may be the sources of infection.

The health situation in farmed salmonids in Norway is relatively good, but there remain considerable losses as a result of many diseases, of both known and unknown cause. The existence of so many diseases of unknown cause, and the annual appearance of new diseases, make disease diagnostics especially challenging. There are no significant changes in the disease situation in farmed marine fish species. The majority of samples submitted are from cod, with the remainder from halibut, wrasse, turbot and other species.

Outbreaks of pancreas disease, PD, cause large economic losses for the salmonid farming industry in northern Europe. The geographical area in which PD occurs in Norway has increased significantly in recent years. A research project with the aim of investigating how the causal virus, SAV, is dispersed within and between sites, was recently started. The

Analyses of new bulk milk samples has revealed four new herds that needs to be followed up with blood sample analyses. The National Veterinary Institute presented the results for the Norwegian Food Safety Authorities wednesday evening.

The National Veterinary Institute produces maps on the status of the bluetongue outbreak in the southern Norway. The maps are updated regularly on the status of samples and analyses.

The National Veterinary institute has recieved new bulk milk samples from milk herds within the restriction sones today. The samples are being analysed for antibodies against Bluetongue. Several new milk- and blood samples are expected the following days.

The laboratories at the National Veterinary Institute are ready for large amounts of samples from herds of cattle and small ruminants within the restriction sones. The Norwegian Food Safety Authorities will collect samples from hundreds of herds, that will be analysed by ELISA and PCR. A map over the different restriction sones is available.

The animal disease bluetongue has been detected in Norway for the first time, by the National Veterinary Institute (NVI) in Norway. Through a surveillance program for blutongue seropositive animals was found in two cattle herds in the southern part of Norway (county Vest-Agder). The results has been confirmed with PCR tests. Due to winter conditions, when the insect vector is not present, there is no risk of spreading the disesease to other herds. The veterinary authorities follow the situation closely, and all herds within the security sones will be tested for the disease.