Saprolegniasis, caused by the fungus Saprolegnia spp., is a disease that affects freshwater aquatic organisms, such as fish, eggs and invertebrates, and is particularly problematic in intensive farming conditions such as the national salmon farming industry.
At the national level, the Atlantic salmon species (Salmo salar ) is the most important species in the salmon farming industry with an annual production of 648,005 TON in 2023, 5.2% more than in the same period of 2022. Among the most important causes of mortality reported are infectious and of the total number of infectious causes in 2023, 46.4% of mortality was classified as mycosis, 4.1% more compared to the previous period, which translates into 5.6% of economic losses in production at the national level ($362 MUSD).
Currently, the most used for its control is Formalin, but as it is considered a probable carcinogen in humans by the US EPA, authorities worldwide have questioned its use. Given that today in the market there are few alternatives capable of acting against acute infectious cases of mycosis to alternate the use of formalin, the opportunity arises to develop SINEFOL,® a non-pharmacological natural-based water conditioner with antifungal characteristics developed by the company Farmacología en Aquacultura Veterinaria (FAV) that allows improving the safety of fresh water within fish farms and, with this, animal welfare in aquaculture production.
After its validation in the field and through histopathological tests, the product proved to be safe, not affecting gills, skin or generating eye lesions. It does not cause significant stress during bathing, does not interrupt the feeding cycle of salmonids and mitigates the impact of saprolegniasis in combination with pharmacological products.