Potency, Efficacy and Standardization of a Whole Killed IHN Virus Vaccine

The salmon and to a lesser extent the trout aquaculture industries in North America consider infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus a major threat to the current and future economic viability and sustainable growth of the industry. As such, development of an efficacious IHN virus vaccine has been identified as top priority of both government and industry organizations in the United States and Canada. The ultimate goal of this project (Phase I-III) is to develop a vaccine for the control of infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) disease of salmon and trout. The specific technical goal and deliverable product of the Phase II project is a pre-commercial IHN virus vaccine prototype. The work plan will address five primary topics related to vaccine performance: vaccine (1) preparation, (2) formulation, (3) potency, (4) safety and (5) efficacy.