Development of autogenous vaccines for the control of amoebic gill disease in farmed salmon

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Amoebic gill disease (AGD) is a new disease emerging in farmed salmon across the world including Scotland and Ireland. The amoeba colonise the gills of fish causing inflammation which can lead to suffocation of the fish. The project brings together scientists with expertise in AGD at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling; Marine Harvest Scotland, the biggest producer of farmed salmon in Scotland; and Ridgeway Biologicals Ltd, an SME which specialises in the manufacture of farm-specific "autogenous" vaccines. The consortium aims to sample, culture and characterise amoebae which are killing fish in Scotland and then develop vaccines based on these isolated amoeba. The vaccines will be tested in salmon in experimental trials in a laboratory environment. Experimental vaccines that prove effective in the laboratory will be used to vaccinate fish in sea cages to assess vaccine efficacy in fish following natural exposure to amoeba.