KINETICS OF INFECTION OF PLASMA, BLOOD LEUKOCYTES AND LYMPHOID-TISSUE FROM ATLANTIC SALMON SALMO-SALAR EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITH PANCREAS DISEASE

Plasma, blood leucocytes, splenocytes and kidney homogenates were all shown to be infective following intraperitoneal injection of Atlantic salmon post-smelts with pancreas disease infective kidney homogenate. The kinetics of infectivity were temperature dependent with a more rapid dissemination of infection at 14 degrees C compared to 9 degrees C and 6 degrees C. At all 3 temperatures, the plasma remained highly infectious from Day 1 post injection until pancreas pathology started to occur at which time it became non-infectious. The blood leucocytes, splenocytes and kidney became infective after the plasma, the time interval being temperature dependent but, as with the plasma, these cells and tissues became non-infectious when peak pathology occurred.