Plasma protein changes in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., with infectioussalmon anaemia

Moderate to severe anaemia and hypoproteinaemia were reported in a Canadian outbreak of 'haemorrhagic kidney syndrome' in Atlantic salmon, later shown to be caused by a variant of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV). The p rogressive anaemia associated with ISA has been previously reported, but hy poproteinaemia in salmon infected with European isolates of ISA virus has n ot been well documented. The present study showed a very significant positi ve correlation between decreasing haematocrit values and total plasma prote in concentrations in Atlantic salmon infected with two Canadian and two Nor wegian ISA viral isolates. However, variations in the concentration of indi vidual plasma proteins, typical of acute phase responses in higher vertebra tes, were not observed.