Fish Vaccines

Bacterial infections of aquatic species can represent major threats to fish health and welfare and the economics of farmed fish production. We have produced a range of injectable and immersion vaccines for farmed fish species and display fish in aquaria.

Vaccines for Salmon and Trout
Enteric Red Mouth (ERM) remains a threat to salmon and trout despite the availability of fully licensed vaccines.  This is likely to be through the emergence of new serotypes and biotypes of Yersinia ruckeri which is the aetiological agent of ERM. By isolating and typing outbreak strains we are able to produce mono- and multi-valent vaccines against a range of serotypes which include O1, O2 and O5. These vaccines when formulated with the appropriate serotype(s) have proved very effective at controlling ERM.

Rainbow trout fry syndrome (RTFS) continues to be a major cause of mortality in trout fry and the causative organism is Flavobacterium psychrophilum. This disease is becoming increasingly prevalent in some salmon production systems. It has been speculated by some in the industry that RTFS may have spread from trout into salmon through contaminated equipment. However preliminary studies in our laboratory suggest different strains are associated with infection of salmon and trout and therefore transmission from trout is unlikely to be the cause for the emergence of this pathogen in salmon. Analysis of F.psychrophilum strains from hatcheries and linked on-growing sites have demonstrated the same and different strains may be present in linked production systems. Our vaccines, which are formulated with all relevant site-specific strains, can be very effective in controlling RTFS.

On sites where RTFS and ERM are problems we are able to formulate multivalent vaccines against both diseases. Such vaccines enable minimal fish handling and associated stressing of fish.

Vaccines for Cod
Vibriosis due to Vibrio anguillarum O2β remains the major disease threat for farmed cod. Our vaccines based on V. anguillarum O2β have proved extremely effective in controlling infections with this organism. However constant monitoring of fish health is recommended as other pathogens remain a threat to the farming of cod.  For example outbreaks of infections due to Tenacibaculum maritimus and other Vibrio species have been found. We have manufactured mono-, bi- and tri-valent vaccines formulated with different Vibrio and Tenacibaculum strains and such vaccines have been very successful in controlling infections caused by these pathogens.

Vaccines for Turbot
Edwardsiella tarda has been found to cause disease outbreaks in several turbot farms in Europe. We are able to supply immersion and injectable E. tarda vaccines for the control of this pathogen in hatcheries and ongrowing sites.

Vaccines for Display Fish
We have produced a range of vaccines derived from Vibrio species including V. icteroenterii, V.parahaemolyticus, V.vulnificus, V. campbellii, V.alginolyticus and V.harveii for various display fish.