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  • Writer's pictureBent Petersen

GP3 - Genomic epidemiology and Phage-based Prevention of salmon associated Pasteurella

Together with https://www.scientifica.dk we have now produced a promotional video for the GP3 project.


The video can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uODSYS7jqFc or seen below.


GP3 is a 3 years project, funded by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund


The project's main objective is to develop a targeted phage therapy solution to prevent and control Pasteurella skyensis and other strains associated with pasteurellosis in Atlantic salmon farms.


Pasteurellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with bacteria of the Pasteurella genus. Pasteurella sp., P.skyensis, and P.atlantica are Gram-negative, rod-shaped facultatively anaerobic bacteria and an increasingly emerging threat to farmed Norwegian salmon. Little is known about this infectious agent despite its implications and impact on fish stocks. The Pasteurella genus consists of several species that infect animals including fish, horses, pigs, hamsters, cats, and dogs. Antibiotic treatments are generally discouraged, vaccine development is still in its infancy and no specific effective treatments currently exist.


Bacteriophages, or short phages, are viruses that specifically infect and kill bacteria without infecting, or further impacting animal cells. Each phage-type is able to infect and kill a narrow range of bacterial strains, which makes them suitable for development into highly specific antimicrobials.


In aquaculture, phage therapy is a particularly attractive option as applying it in liquid conditions suits the natural biology of phages, increasing their ability to find and kill their target bacterial hosts. Phages have been used to remove pathogenic bacteria from fish and seafood including shrimp, oysters, lobsters, sea cucumbers, salmon, and cod. Data consistently demonstrate that phages cause a significant reduction in pathogen load whilst having minimal impact on the environment. Recently, ACD Pharma, a Norwegian aquaculture pharmaceutical company, launched its first phage-based product CUSTUS®yrs, which effectively uses Yersinia ruckeri-specific phages to control contagious disease yersiniosis in Atlantic salmon.


For more information on the project, please visit https://www.pasteurella.dk.


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