Since the Infectious Haematopoietic Necrosis (IHN) virus was first detected at Dixon Bay farm May 14, Mainstream has done extensive sampling at all the company's farm sites.
One of these samples, taken from Bawden Point farm, showed a "weak positive" for the IHN virus.
The CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) did two more rounds of sampling and testing, one week apart, at Bawden Point farm. All these samples have tested negative for IHN virus.
The quarantine on Bawden Point farm has since been lifted by CFIA. All fish at this site look healthy, mortality remains very low and no clinical signs of IHN virus have been detected.
"This is good news for us, but we will stay on alert and maintain very strict bio-security measures and keep our farms isolated, while frequently testing for the virus," said Fernando Villarroel, Mainstream Canada's managing director. "We are hopeful that our quick and decisive action worked to prevent this virus from spreading to our other farms."
During internal routine testing, Mainstream Canada's Dixon Bay farm north of Tofino tested positive for the IHN virus on May 14, 2012. On May 17, the company began depopulating fish from the site and by the evening of May 21, the site was empty.
Dixon Bay farm is still under quarantine while it is cleaned to CFIA's standards.
Bawden Point farm is located in Herbert Inlet north of Tofino.
All Mainstream Farms Test Negative for IHN Virus
CANADA - As of today, all of Mainstream Canada's farms have been tested for the IHN virus, and all tests have come back negative.
by Lucy Towers
