title: Comparative aspects of infectious salmon anemia virus, an orthomyxovirus of fish, to influenza viruses.
abstract: Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is a viral disease that was first recorded in 1984 in farmed Atlantic salmon. The infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) is classified as the type species of the genus Isavirus in the Orthomyxoviridae family and is evolutionary remote to the influenza viruses. The genome consists of eight negative single-stranded RNA segments, and it utilises the same mechanisms as influenza viruses to enter and exit cells. Although a common ancestor of ISAV and other genera of Orthomyxoviruses could be dated back several millions of years, there are still many similarities between ISAV and the influenza viruses regarding morphology, replication cycles and interactions with their respective hosts.
authors.affiliation: Section of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, P.O. Box 8146, NO - 0033 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Ragnhild
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Toennessen
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lauscher
authors.forename: Espen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rimstad
keywords: Influenza virus; Orthomyxovirus; Salmon anemia virus