Platform for Viral Aquamedicine

Our vision for the "Platform for viral aquamedicine" is to understand immunity to viral infections in Atlantic salmon. We will focus on two viral pathogens (ISAV and IPNV)representing virus with different infection strategies and study how these viruses interact with the immune system of the host during the progression of disease. We will apply this understanding to immunization using attenuated vaccines or targeted antigen delivery methods.Through national and intemational collaborations the platform will be at the forefront of research in fish immunology and virology. By establishing standardized tools and modelssystems basic knowledge for development of efficient vaccines against viral diseases in salmonids will be developed. Viral diseased represent a major problem in aquaculture and effective vaccines will be of great economical gain, providing the participating countries with a competitive advantage.