Development and application of a whole genome amplicon sequencing method for infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV).

Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) is an infectious disease primarily affecting farmed Atlantic salmon, , which is caused by the ISA virus (ISAV). ISAV belongs to the family. The disease is a serious condition resulting in reduced fish welfare and high mortality.

Validation of a TaqMan one-step real-time RT-PCR assay targeting ISAV segment 7 spliced mRNA.

Infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) can cause severe systemic infection in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.), and a timely diagnosis is critical. Conventional real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) assays target unspliced RNA from either ISAV segment 7 or 8 and provide data on viral load.

Destruction of the vascular viral receptor in infectious salmon anaemia provides in vivo evidence of homologous attachment interference.

Viral interference is a process where infection with one virus prevents a subsequent infection with the same or a different virus. This is believed to limit superinfection, promote viral genome stability, and protect the host from overwhelming infection. Mechanisms of viral interference have been extensively studied in plants, but remain poorly understood in vertebrates.

Factors influencing the immune response over 15 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection: A longitudinal population-wide study in the Faroe Islands.

Background: The durability of SARS-CoV-2 antibody response and the resulting immunity to COVID-19 is unclear.

Objectives: To investigate long-term humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: In this nationwide, longitudinal study, we determined antibody response in 411 patients aged 0-93 years from two waves of infections (March to December 2020) contributing 1063 blood samples.

Clinical characteristics of the Omicron variant - results from a Nationwide Symptoms Survey in the Faroe Islands.

Objectives: Omicron appears to lead to a milder illness for patients compared with previous COVID-19 variants. However, not all infected with Omicron would describe their illness as mild. In this study, we investigate the experienced severity and symptoms of the Omicron variant.

Salmon Erythrocytes Sequester Active Virus Particles in Infectious Salmon Anaemia.

Infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) binds circulating Atlantic salmon erythrocytes, but the relevance of this interaction for the course of infection and development of disease remains unclear. We here characterise ISAV-erythrocyte interactions in experimentally infected Atlantic salmon and show that ISAV-binding to erythrocytes is common and precedes the development of disease. Viral RNA and infective particles were enriched in the cellular fraction of blood.

Omicron Outbreak at a Private Gathering in the Faroe Islands, Infecting 21 of 33 Triple-Vaccinated Healthcare Workers.

There are concerns that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron variant evades immune responses due to an unusually high number of mutations on the spike protein. Here, we report a superspreading event of Omicron infections among 21 of 33 triple-vaccinated healthcare workers who attended a private gathering.

No Evidence of the Vertical Transmission of Non-Virulent Infectious Salmon Anaemia Virus (ISAV-HPR0) in Farmed Atlantic Salmon.

The nonvirulent infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV-HPR0) is the putative progenitor for virulent-ISAV, and a potential risk factor for the development of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA). Understanding the transmission dynamics of ISAV-HPR0 is fundamental to proper management and mitigation strategies. Here, we demonstrate that ISAV-HPR0 causes prevalent and transient infections in all three production stages of Atlantic salmon in the Faroe Islands.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Antibodies among Quarantined Close Contacts of COVID-19 Patients, Faroe Islands, 2020.

Close contacts of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients are at high risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We assessed the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies among quarantined close contacts of COVID-19 patients in the Faroe Islands. We invited quarantined close contacts of COVID-19 index patients identified during March 3-April 22, 2020, to participate in this study; 584 (81%) contacts consented and underwent serologic testing.

Epidemiology and Clinical Course of First Wave Coronavirus Disease Cases, Faroe Islands.

The Faroe Islands was one of the first countries in the Western Hemisphere to eliminate coronavirus disease (COVID-19). During the first epidemic wave in the country, 187 cases were reported between March 3 and April 22, 2020. Large-scale testing and thorough contact tracing were implemented early on, along with lockdown measures.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Antibodies, Faroe Islands.

We conducted a nationwide study of the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in the Faroe Islands. Of 1,075 randomly selected participants, 6 (0.6%) tested seropositive for antibodies to the virus.

Characterization of ranaviruses isolated from lumpfish L. in the North Atlantic area: proposal for a new ranavirus species (European North Atlantic Ranavirus).

The commercial production of lumpfish L. is expanding with the increased demand for their use as cleaner fish, to control sea-lice numbers, at marine Atlantic salmon L. aquaculture sites throughout Northern Europe.

Evolution of the Genome Linked to Emergence of Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation in Farmed Atlantic Salmon ().

Heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in farmed Atlantic salmon ( was first diagnosed in Norway in 1999. The disease is caused by -1 (PRV-1). The virus is prevalent in farmed Atlantic salmon, but not always associated with disease.

Carnitine levels and mutations in the SLC22A5 gene in Faroes patients with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and energy production have been implicated in the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). Several agents are under investigation for potential neuroprotective effects including acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC).

Objective: To investigate whether low carnitine levels and mutations in the SLC22A5 gene encoding the carnitine transporter are associates with PD risk in the Faroe Islands where the prevalence of both PD and carnitine transporter deficiency (CTD) is high.

First field evidence of the evolution from a non-virulent HPR0 to a virulent HPR-deleted infectious salmon anaemia virus.

The putatively non-virulent subtype of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV), ISAV-HPR0, is proposed to act as a progenitor and reservoir for all virulent ISAVs and thus represent a potential risk factor for the emergence of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) disease. Here, we provide the first evidence of genetic and functional evolution from an ISAV-HPR0 variant (FO/07/12) to a low-virulent ISAV virus (FO/121/14) in a Faroese Atlantic salmon marine farm. The FO/121/14 virus infection was not associated with specific clinical signs of ISA and was confined to a single net-pen, while various ISAV-HPR0 subtypes were found circulating in most epidemiologically linked marine and freshwater farms.

Localised Infection of Atlantic Salmon Epithelial Cells by HPR0 Infectious Salmon Anaemia Virus.

Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is an important, systemic viral disease of farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. Endothelial cells are the main target cells for highly virulent HPR-deleted ISA virus (ISAV) types. Here we examine the pathogenesis of non-virulent ISAV HPR0 infections, presenting evidence of an epithelial tropism for this virus type, including actual infection and replication in the epithelial cells.

Culture Negative Listeria monocytogenes Meningitis Resulting in Hydrocephalus and Severe Neurological Sequelae in a Previously Healthy Immunocompetent Man with Penicillin Allergy.

A previously healthy 74-year-old Caucasian man with penicillin allergy was admitted with evolving headache, confusion, fever, and neck stiffness. Treatment for bacterial meningitis with dexamethasone and monotherapy ceftriaxone was started. The cerebrospinal fluid showed negative microscopy for bacteria, no bacterial growth, and negative polymerase chain reaction for bacterial DNA.

Infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) mucosal infection in Atlantic salmon.

All viruses infecting fish must cross the surface mucosal barrier to successfully enter a host. Infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV), the causative agent of the economically important infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., has been shown to use the gills as its entry point.

Low virulent infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) replicates and initiates the immune response earlier than a highly virulent virus in Atlantic salmon gills.

Observations from the field and experimental evidence suggest that different strains of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) can induce disease of varying severity in Atlantic salmon. Variation in host mortality and dissemination of ISAV isolates with high and low virulence was investigated using immersion challenge; from which mortality, pathological, immunohistochemical and preliminary molecular results have been previously published. Here, real-time RT-PCR analysis and statistical modelling have been used to further investigate variation in virus load and the response of four select immune genes.

The role of vitamin D levels and vitamin D receptor polymorphism on Parkinson's disease in the Faroe Islands.

The role of vitamin D in Parkinson's disease (PD) has been proposed and both low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (25(OH)D) and vitamin D receptor polymorphisms (VDR) have been linked to PD. The aim of this study is to investigate the associations among 25(OH)D and three VDR polymorphisms and PD in the Faroese population where the prevalence of PD is high. We conducted a case-control study where 121 cases were studied for 25(OH)D levels and VDR polymorphisms against 235 randomly selected controls, matched by gender and age.

Ultra-deep pyrosequencing of partial surface protein genes from infectious Salmon Anaemia virus (ISAV) suggest novel mechanisms involved in transition to virulence.

Uncultivable HPR0 strains of infectious salmon anaemia viruses (ISAVs) infecting gills are non-virulent putative precursors of virulent ISAVs (vISAVs) causing systemic disease in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The transition to virulence involves two molecular events, a deletion in the highly polymorphic region (HPR) of the hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) gene and a Q266→L266 substitution or insertion next to the putative cleavage site (R267) in the fusion protein (F). We have performed ultra-deep pyrosequencing (UDPS) of these gene regions from healthy fish positive for HPR0 virus carrying full-length HPR sampled in a screening program, and a vISAV strain from an ISA outbreak at the same farming site three weeks later, and compared the mutant spectra.

A low-pathogenic variant of infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV-HPR0) is highly prevalent and causes a non-clinical transient infection in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in the Faroe Islands.

Infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) is an orthomyxovirus responsible for a significant disease of farmed Atlantic salmon. Fallowing and re-establishment of the Atlantic salmon farming industry in the Faroes following a recent devastating infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) disease epidemic provided a unique opportunity to study the risk of re-emergence of disease. Over 53 months, 2787 of 34 573 (8.