Farmed salmon infected with salmon flu is being sold to consumers both domestically and internationally, reports Fréttablaðið. However, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation the virus is harmless to humans and cannot be transmitted by gutted fish products.
The first infection was discovered recently in Reyðarfjörður and later a similar infection was found in Berufjörður.
The infected fish is transported in “digestion tanks” for treatment in Djúpivogur, where it is then gutted and sold for human consumption in mostly international markets.
“All farmed fish for human consumption is fresh, gutted, iced, and packed directly for the market,” says a veterinary specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organisation. “Almost all of the salmon from Reyðarfjörður goes to foreign markets, mainly in the United States, but also to the European market.”
The current plan is to slaughter all of the salmon in the sea-quarantine farming area to prevent further spread of the salmon flu to other fish.
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