ISA suspected at Lerøy site

Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is suspected at a Lerøy Seafood site at Frøya in Norway’s Trondelag region.

Lerøy Midt AS informed the Norwegian Food Safety Authority of its concerns last week, based on the results of PCR analysis carried out after samples were taken at the site.

The operation there had already been closed due to bacterial kidney disease.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority said it plans to carry out an immediate inspection of the facility when it will take follow-up samples, so that it can either confirm or reject the suspicions.

As usual with such incidents, measures have been introduced to limit the spread of the virus. These include a ban on the movement of fish and limits on the movement of fish farm personnel.

If the suspicions are confirmed it is usual to empty of the site of salmon. ISA is not harmful to humans, but it seriously affects the health of fish.

Confirmation would also be a further setback for Lerøy which has had more than its share of problems in Norway recently.

The recent issues have centred around listeria and also affected Lerøy Midt, where a number of cases were reported over two months ago.

Lerøy CEO Henning Beltestad (pictured) said at the time that the company operated an integrated value chain for salmon production which provided the best conditions to ensure safe and healthy products.

He added: “Lerøy and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority share a common interest in combating listeria in the best possible way.”