Salmonid alphavirus (SAV)

Salmonid alphavirus (SAV), commonly known as the salmon pancreas disease virus (SPDV), is an enveloped, spherical, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus in the genus Alphavirus (family Togaviridae), with a genome of approximately 12 kilobases[1][3][4][5]. It is the causative agent of pancreas disease (PD) in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sleeping disease (SD) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), both of which result in high mortality and severe economic loss in aquaculture[3][1][9]. The virus encodes eight proteins (four structural—E1, E2, E3, 6K—and four nonstructural—nsP1-4) with the E2 glycoprotein playing a central role in host cell binding and virus entry[3][4]. There are at least six genotypes (SAV1–SAV6), defined by sequence differences in the E2 and nsP3 genes[4][5][8]. SAV is not considered a typical therapeutic target like a receptor, enzyme, or transporter—there are no small-molecule drugs that block or modulate SAV in the style of classic therapeutics; management is through vaccination and husbandry/biosecurity rather than direct molecular targeting[7][9].

Other names

Salmon pancreas disease virusSPDVPancreas disease virusSleeping disease virus

Not applicable—this is a viral pathogen, not a molecular therapeutic target. Management is through vaccination or biosecurity, not through classical drug-receptor mechanisms[7][9].