After extensive testing for infectious salmon anemia (ISA), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there are no confirmed cases of the disease in wild or farmed salmon in B.C.
In recent years, the CFIA and the province have tested more than 5,000 wild and farmed salmon in B.C. for ISA; none have ever tested positive, says the CFIA.
While ISA poses no risk to people, a Simon Fraser University professor recently reported finding the ISA virus in two smolts from Rivers Inlet on B.C.’s central coast, after testing 48 wild salmon samples in May and June.
In the October SFU release, it was concluded that “the only plausible source” for the ISA virus “is the Atlantic salmon farms.”
The BC Salmon Farmers Association, which noted it has been testing regularly since 2002 and has never found ISA, welcomed the CFIA’s latest news.
“It is good to see that our testing results … have been validated by CFIA’s extensive follow-up on these reports,” said BCSFA executive director Mary Ellen Walling.
