Lower Vertebrate Immunostimulation and effects on host-parasite interactions

大西洋鲑鱼养殖业每年为加拿大经济贡献超过6亿美元。该行业备受争议，因为人们认为它对环境造成了破坏，部分原因是海虱的传播，以及对野生种群的鲑鱼感染。加拿大工业的损失，归因于沙门氏菌感染和相关的化疗治疗费用，估计每年超过5000万美元。因此，养殖鲑鱼中的海虱感染是一个重要的环境和经济问题，特别是在沿海社区和原住民中。在过去的二十年里，只有几种不同的治疗方法可以用来治疗海虱，但在新千年初期，最有效的治疗方法是一种名为SLICETM(先灵葆雅)的饲料治疗方法，过去几年来，由于海虱的耐药性，这种疗法现在已经在许多国家显示出无效。任何能够提供重大保护的新的治疗方案、疫苗或免疫刺激剂都将立即产生经济影响，并提高加拿大三文鱼养殖业的生产效率和可持续性。

Atlantic salmon farming contributes over $600 million annually to the Canadian economy. The industry is controversial due to the perceived damage it causes to the environment, in part, through the spread of sea lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis infections to wild stocks. Losses to Canadian industry, attributed to L. salmonis infection and the associated cost of chemotherapeutic treatment, have been estimated at more than $50 million/yr. Therefore, sea lice infection in farmed salmon is both an important environmental and economic issue, especially within coastal communities and First Nations. Over the last two decades only a handful of different treatments against sea lice have been available, the most effective treatment, through the early part of the new millennium, was an in-feed treatment called SLICETM (Schering-Plough), which now has exhibited inefficacy due to resistance by sea lice in numerous countries over the past couple years. Any new treatment regime, vaccine or immunostimulant that can provide significant protection, would have immediate economic impact and improve Canadian salmon farming industry efficiency of production and sustainability.