PANCREAS DISEASE IN ATLANTIC SALMON - SERUM NEUTRALIZATION AND PASSIVE-IMMUNIZATION

Antisera raised in fish following experimental infection with pancreas disease either by intraperitoneal injection of infective kidney homog enate or by cohabitation with infected fish was found to give up to 10 0% neutralisation when incubated with PD infective kidney homogenate a nd then injected into fish. Complete neutralisation occurred with anti sera obtained four, eight and 15 weeks after infection by injection an d eight and 15 weeks after infection by cohabitation. When antisera, t aken from fish eight weeks following infection by injection, was dilut ed up to 1:100, 100% neutralisation occurred. Significant levels of ne utralisation still occurred at a 1:1000 dilution. Following passive im munisation of Atlantic salmon parr and post-smelts with week 8 antiser a either one, two or three days before or at the same time as or one, two or three days after an i.p. injection of pancreas disease infectiv e kidney homogenate, fish were 100% protected against the disease. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited