The research documents that vaccinating against furunculosis principally hides the beneficial effects of the breeding programme against the same disease.
However, selective breeding and vaccinating are both common strategies to prevent disease in salmon farming and, as such, the strategies should be coordinated.
Even though virtually all farmed fish are vaccinated, selective breeding for increased resistance against diseases is based on challenge tests with unvaccinated fish. The aim of the research from Nofima was to study whether the breeding programme should be based on testing vaccinated or unvaccinated fish.
Research Fellow Tale Marie Karlsson Drangsholt has studied genetic variation in resistance against the disease furunculosis in vaccinated and unvaccinated Atlantic salmon. The salmon were infected with furunculosis in controlled challenge tests.
Tale Marie Karlsson Drangsholt is presenting her doctoral thesis on Thursday 25 August at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) in s. The title of her thesis is Quantitative genetics of traits related to disease resistance and effects of vaccination in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Her supervisors are Bjarne Gjerde and Jrgen degrd at Nofima/UMB.
Twin Race Against Disease
NORWAY - A doctoral thesis at Nofima aims to identify whether selective breeding for resistance to furunculosis in farmed stocks should be from vaccinated or unvaccinated fish.
