The occurrence of Renibacterium salmoninarum within vaccine adhesion components from Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. and coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum

Abstract

Renibacterium salmoninarum the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease (BKD), was cultured from intra-abdominal adhesions in farmed Atlantic salmon and captive coho salmon. A widespread adjuvant insult and fibrin exudate within the abdominal cavity of the Atlantic salmon and to a lesser extent in the coho salmon contained intra and extracellular locations of the bacterium. The fish were considered sub-clinically infected with R. salmoninarum and under normal testing regimes unlikely to have been examined for this disease. Extensive tissue adhesions may mask gross signs of BKD and convey a risk of exacerbation of a sub-clinical infection.