British Columbia is one of the last remaining salmon farming regions of the world that is free of the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus. However, many scientists and wild salmon advocates fear it is only a matter of time before ISAV is transmittedto the Pacific coast of North America. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are the only species in which natural outbreaks of ISA have so far been recorded, but there is concern that this rapidly evolving virus, if introduced to the Pacific Northwest, could spell disaster for wild Pacific salmon stocks as well. In other regions of the world, the primary casualty of ISAV has been the Atlantic salmon farming industry itself. This highly contagious virus has wreaked economic havoc on the aquaculture industry insalmon-producing countries.
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