Salmon 'Foot And Mouth' Hits Scotland

A highly infectious and lethal fish disease dubbed "foot and mouth for salmon" has been confirmed in Scotland, following routine inspections.

An outbreak of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) has been confirmed at one salmon farm in the Burra area, west of Shetland. Two further suspected cases are also located nearby.

A previous outbreak of the disease a decade ago cost the Scottish salmon industry £37m and 200 jobs, with leading supermarkets refusing to sell the fish if it had originated from any of the 35 farms suspected or confirmed as having the disease.

The farm where ISA has been confirmed has been empty of fish since December 21. A control zone and a wider surveillance zone have been established, with movement restrictions in place.

A team of fish health inspectors is being sent to Shetland to investigate the affected sites and advise salmon farming firms there on how to operate under the restrictions.

The disease, first recorded in Norway in 1984 and then in Canada in 1996, reached Scotland in May 1998 at a salmon farm run by a Norwegian firm, Hydro Seafood, on Loch Nevis, near Mallaig. That year, 10 confirmed cases were established.

Scottish Executive investigators at the time suspected the disease was imported on inadequately-disinfected equipment from Norway, although this was difficult to prove.

However, virtually all subsequent outbreaks were traced back to the farm.

After protective measures were introduced, the figure fell to just one in 1999 and by 2000 the industry had a clean bill of health.

The disease can be spread by blood, mucus and sea lice in the water.