SRS is considered one of the most important disease problems in the Chilean salmon farming industry, with economic losses of more than US$100 million in some years. The new oral vaccine is expected to produce effective control of this virulent pathogen.
Centrovet's injectable SRS vaccine platform is adaptable in that it can be delivered orally or through direct injections of the vaccine into the immature salmon. It requires follow-up applications during the salmon's period of development and maturation.
Centrovet scientists developed the specific antibodies produced against the SRS pathogen. They then documented the decline of protection provided by the primary vaccine and determined precisely when to administer the vaccine to the developing fish. This regimen has been incorporated into the overall fish vaccination program used by Chilean fish farmers.
"It is expected that the use of the new vaccine, in conjunction with proper disease management, will significantly reduce the losses due to this SRS pathogen," said David Farcas, CEO of Centrovet. "Importantly, it will also lessen antibiotic use, the subject of much concern in global aquaculture." Losses have been reduced to less than 30 percent using this system.
New Chilean Oral Vaccine Controls SRS
CHILE - Centrovet Laboratories has obtained provisional registration for a freeze-dried, oral-powder vaccine to aid in the prevention of Salmon Rickettsial Syndrome (SRS) in Chilean salmonid species.
