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The first known outbreak caused by a viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) strain of genotype III in rainbow trout occurred in 2007 at a marine farm in Storfjorden, Norway. The source of the virus is unknown, and cod and other marine fish around the farms are suspected as a possible reservoir. The main objective of this study was to test the susceptibility of juvenile Atlantic cod to the VHSV isolate from Storfjorden. As the pathology of VHS in cod is sparsely described, an additional aim of the study was to give a histopathological description of the disease. Two separate challenge experiments were carried out, using both intra peritoneal (ip) injection and cohabitation as challenge methods. Mortality in the ip injection experiment leveled at approximately 50% three weeks post challenge. Both immunohistochemical and rRT-PCR analysis of organs sampled from diseased and surviving fish confirmed VHSV infection. No VHSV was detected in the cohabitants. The results indicate that Atlantic cod has a low natural susceptibility to this VHSV genotype III strain. One of the most extensive pathological changes was degeneration of cardiac myocytes. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that the lesions were related to VHSV. In some fish, the hematopoietic tissue of spleen and kidney showed degeneration and immunostaining, classical signs of VHS, as described in rainbow trout. Positive immunostaining of the capillaries of the gills, suggests this organ as a useful alternative when screening for VHSV.

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Salmonid alphavirus subtype 3 (SAV3) causes pancreas disease (PD) and adversely affects salmonid aquaculture in Europe. A better understanding of disease transmission is currently needed in order to manage PD outbreaks. Here, we demonstrate the relationship between viral dose and the outcome of SAV3 infection in Atlantic salmon post-smolts using a bath challenge model. Fish were challenged at 12 °C with 3 different SAV3 doses; 139, 27 and 7 TCID50 L-1 of seawater. A dose of as little as 7 TCID50 L-1 of seawater was able to induce SAV3 infection in the challenged population with a substantial level of variation between replicate tanks and, therefore, likely represents a dose close to the minimum dose required to establish an infection in a population. These data also confirm the highly infectious nature of SAV through horizontal transmission. The outcome of SAV3 infection, evaluated by the prevalence of viraemic fish, SAV3-positive hearts, and the virus shedding rate, was positively correlated to the original SAV3 dose. A maximal shedding rate of 2.4 × 104 TCID50 L-1 of seawater h-1 kg-1 was recorded 10 days post-exposure (dpe) from the highest dose group. The method reported here, for the quantification of infectious SAV3 in seawater, could be useful to monitor PD status or obtain data from SAV3 outbreaks at field locations. This information could be incorporated into pathogen dispersal models to improve risk assessment and to better understand how SAV3 spreads between farms during outbreaks. This information may also provide new insights into the control and mitigation of PD.

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Viral diseases represent a serious problem in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) farming in Norway. Pancreas disease (PD) caused by salmonid alphavirus (SAV) and heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) caused by piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) are among the most frequently diagnosed viral diseases in recent years. The possible spread of viruses from salmon farms to wild fish is a major public concern. Sea trout S. trutta collected from the major farming areas along the Norwegian coast are likely to have been exposed to SAV and PRV from farms with disease outbreaks. We examined 843 sea trout from 4 counties in Norway for SAV and PRV infections. We did not detect SAV in any of the tested fish, although significant numbers of the trout were caught in areas with frequent PD outbreaks. Low levels of PRV were detected in 1.3% of the sea trout. PRV-infected sea trout were caught in both salmon farming and non-farming areas, so the occurrence of infections was not associated with farming intensity or HSMI cases. Our results suggest that SAV and PRV infections are uncommon in wild sea trout. Hence, we found no evidence that sea trout are at risk from SAV or PRV released from salmon farms.

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A myxosporean producing actinospores of the tetractinomyxon type in Hydroides norvegicus Gunnerus (Serpulidae) in Denmark was identified as a member of the family Parvicapsulidae based on small-subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequences. Myxosporean samples from various Danish and Norwegian marine fishes were examined with primers that detect the novel myxosporean. Sprattus sprattus (Linnaeus) and Clupea harengus Linnaeus (Teleostei, Clupeidae) were found to be infected. The sequences of this parvicapsulid from these hosts were consistently slightly different (0.8% divergence), but both these genotypes were found in H. norvegicus. Disporic trophozoites and minute spores of a novel myxosporean type were observed in the renal tubules of some of the hosts found infected through PCR. The spores appear most similar to those of species of Gadimyxa Køie, Karlsbakk et Nylund, 2007, but are much smaller. The actinospores of the tetractinomyxon type from H. norvegicus have been described previously. In GenBank, the SSU rDNA sequences of Parvicapsulidae gen. sp. show highest identity (82%) with Parvicapsula minibicornis Kent, Whitaker et Dawe, 1997 infecting salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) in fresh water in the western North America. A phylogenetic analysis places P. minibicornis and Parvicapsulidae gen. sp. in a sister clade to the other parvicapsulids (Parvicapsula spp. and Gadimyxa spp.).

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Sphaeromyxa artedielli sp. n. is described from the gall bladder of the Atlantic hookear sculpin Artediellus atlanticus Jordan et Evermann (Cottidae; type host) from northern Norway. The parasite was also found to infect Triglops murrayi Günther (Cottidae). Spores are produced in disporic pansporoblasts in large flat plasmodia. Spores are straight and fusiform with truncated ends, and measure 16.5-18.7 microm x 4.9-6.2 microm. Valves are thick, striated and suture line is straight. Two equal ovoid polar capsules measure 4.2-6.8 microm x 2.9-4.4 microm and contain irregularly folded polar filaments. Distinctive features include spore shape and size, spore length/width relationship, striated valves, equal polar capsules and a short intercapsular distance. Sphaeromyxa bonaerensis Timi et Sardella, 1998, Sphaeromyxa cannolii Sears, Anderson et Greiner, 2011, and Sphaeromyxa sevastopoli Naidenova, 1970 produce straight spores with truncated ends that are of similar length as those of the new species. Sphaeromyxa cannolii differs in showing smooth spores with unequal polar capsules. The new species differs from S. bonaerensis and S. sevastopoli in significantly wider spores and polar capsules. Sphaeromyxa balbianii Thélohan, 1892, a species originally described with significantly smaller spores than S. artedielli sp. n., has previously been recorded from T. murrayi. We show that S. artedielli sp. n. differs from S. balbianii from the type host Gaidropsarus vulgaris (Cloquet) by its SSU rDNA sequence, and suggest that Atlantic records of Sphaeromyxa spp. from T. murrayi represent S. artedielli sp. n. The closest relative to S. artedielli sp. n. according to the SSU rDNA sequences, S. longa Dunkerly, 1921, differs clearly by spore size and shape. In the SSU rDNA-based phylogenetic analyses, S. artedielli sp. n. groups with other Sphaeromyxa spp. with straight spores and truncated ends in a clade that represents a sister-group to Sphaeromyxa spp. with arcuate spores and rounded ends. Our results indicate that an SSU rDNA pseudogene is present in S. balbianii.

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Francisellosis, caused by the bacterium Francisella noatunensis, is one of the most severe diseases affecting farmed cod, and has caused great economic loss for the cod farming industry in Norway. We studied the fate of F. noatunensis in the marine environment, focusing on the role of blue mussels. In experimental challenges, waterborne F. noatunensis was rapidly filtered by the blue mussel and transported to the digestive diverticulae. The bacteria passed through the entire digestive system. Intraperitoneal injection of cod with suspensions prepared from faeces collected from challenged mussels resulted in the development of francisellosis in the recipients, demonstrating that some bacteria were alive and infective when shed in mussel faeces. Bacterial clearance from the mussels was relatively fast, and no evidence was found, suggesting that the bacterium is capable of persisting or multiplying in the mussel tissues. A cohabitation experiment with cod and mussels previously exposed to F. noatunensis did not lead to infection in cod. A direct transmission from contaminated mussels to cod was thus not demonstrated; however, faeces particles with infective bacteria may play a role in the transmission of the bacterium in marine food chains.

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