Modeling the Dispersal of Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus from Aquaculture Sites
Understanding the dispersal of waterborne pathogens is critical to minimize the risk of disease outbreaks at aquaculture sites for farmed and wild species.
Here, we developed a framework to predict the dispersal of the Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISAV) from salmon aquaculture sites in Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick.
The framework included an epidemiological module to model the outbreak of a disease at aquaculture sites, an oceanography module to model the effects of currents on the dispersal of the virus, and a decay module to model the viability of the virus outside of its hosts.
Read this open access paper on the FACETS website.
Our simulations showed the concentration of the virus was affected by the timing of the outbreak, currents speed and direction, tide elevation, and ultraviolet radiation.
Connectivity among aquaculture sites varied primarily in relation to seaway distances, though this was modulated by current direction.
This framework can be used to assess the risk associated with disease outbreaks at salmon aquaculture sites, and guide sitting decisions to minimize this risk for both wild and farmed species.
Read the paper — Modelling the dispersion of infectious salmon anemia virus from Atlantic salmon farms in the Quoddy Region of New Brunswick, Canada and Maine, USA by Fuhong Ding, Nellie Gagné, Delphine Ditlecadet, Brady K. Quinn, and Marc Trudel.
