Norwegian authorities investigating more ISA incidents

Three more infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) incidents, including suspected and confirmed cases, are being investigated in Norway.

The number of possible cases has been on the increase over the past few weeks and the outbreak is starting to prove costly for the companies involved.

Yesterday Måsøval reported to the Oslo Stock Exchange that there was a suspected case at one of its farms.

Now the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has said the disease has been detected at a Grieg Seafood Rogaland facility in Kvitsøy municipality, which contains over 300,000 fish weighing an average 4.46 kg.

Grieg, which has its own ISA vaccine programme at the location, said there appear to be no signs of illness with most of the fish and added that the company was working with the Food Safety Authority. Grieg stressed that the fish are safe to eat and were coming up to slaughter in any case.

In a separate incident, ISA is being investigated at an Organic Sea Farms location in Nordland after a fish health company raised suspicions which were based on a PCR test result from a sample.

ISA is also suspected at a Lerøy Vest farm in the Vestland region following the result of sampling tests carried out on the fish. The Food Safety Authority has been notified and further tests will be taken to confirm if the suspicions are correct.

The usual restrictions to prevent further spread of the disease are now in place. They include curbs on the movement of people and fish without special permission. The sites where ISA is confirmed are likely to be emptied of fish in due course.