In his study Jarle Mikalsen contributed to the identification of this bacterium, now called Francisella philomiragia noatunensis. He said that the disease caused by the bacterium is now called francisellosis and is listed in the national disease register and regulated under the terms of the Norwegian Food Act.
Mikalsen’s work with intracellular bacteria (bacteria living in body cells) of farmed cod and salmon has increased knowledge and improved the diagnostics of these bacteria. It is told that it has been an important contribution to the understanding of bacterial infections in the fish farming industry. This thesis is the result of a collaboration by several Norwegian research environments.
The main purpose of this study is to raise the knowledge of bacterial infections of significance for health or economy in the farming industry. It is informed that this new bacterium has caused significant loss in the cod farming industry in recent years. However, it may also pose a threat to farmed salmon since it occurs naturally in coastal waters and is liable to cause disease in a range of marine species.
In addition to identifying Francisella, a breakthrough was achieved in the demonstration of the bacterium, Piscirickettsia salmonis. This is another intracellular bacterium that has caused significant loss in the fish farming industry both nationally and internationally, especially in Chile.
