Abstract
The possible influences of contaminant bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens , infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) and environmental stress on the development of vaccine‐related peritoneal adhesions in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., pre‐smolts were investigated. Groups of 50 fish (≈ 30 g) vaccinated with a commercial, triple valent, metabolizable oil‐adjuvanted vaccine were pre‐injected with IPNV, co‐injected with Pseudomonas fluorescens or subjected to routine stress both solely and in combination. Fish from each group were sampled monthly over 3 months. Vaccine side‐effects were scored macroscopically and examined histologically. Fibrous adhesions were apparent in all groups from the first sampling date. Treatments including co‐injection of P. fluorescens and additional environmental stress were found to confer significantly higher degrees of adhesion than vaccine alone. The findings are discussed in relation to vaccination procedures. Persistent or covert IPNV infection could not be confirmed in subsequent samplings.