In order to ensure growth in Norwegian aquaculture, optimal disease control must be obtained. Two of the diseases causing outbreaks in a vast number of Norwegian fish farms are Pancreas disease (PD) caused by salmonid alphavirus (SAV2 and SAV3), and heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) caused by Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV). Recent studies have demonstrated that functional vaccines may be developed against these diseases, but only suboptimal protection have been obtained with existing methods. Standard vaccines using inactivated viruses depend on targeted adjuvants for protective effects, but their ability to stimulate the immune system is less efficient compared to an infecting virus. To be able to fine-tune vaccine effects into optimal protection, more in depth understanding of the host-agent interaction and the pathogen-specific protective mechanisms are needed.
Read more about the project here.
Partners
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences
- UiT Arctic University of Norway
- DTU, Denmark
- INRA, France
