The susceptibility of sea trout to infection with salmonid alphavirus and piscine orthoreovirus

The aim of the current study is to compare the susceptibility of sea trout and salmon smolt to infection with SAV and PRV. Atlantic salmon is susceptible to infection with both viruses. However, it is not known if sea trout will experience similar infection. The study will generate data about the susceptibility of sea trout to viruses prevalent in salmon farming; namely SAV and PRV. Such data is necessary to evaluate the impact of diseases in fish farming on wild salmonid populations. It may also support our screening results that suggest that sea trout is less susceptible to SAV and PRV than salmon. We will use 560 sea trout and 670 salmon smolt (after seawater transfer). The number of fish was selected after a thorough consideration for the minimum number needed at each sampling point and the number of sampling points required to study infection time-course.