Development of an in vivo assay to assess attachment of Neoparamoeba sp. (an amphizoic gymnamoeba) to the gills of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L

Amoebic gill disease (AGD) in marine cultured Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in Tasmania is caused by the amphizoic protozoan Neoparamoeba sp. after it attaches to the gills (Zilberg & Munday 2000). The disease is characterized histologically by hyperplastic lesions resulting in lamellar fusion often with the amoebae attached (Munday, Lange, Foster, Lester & Handlinger 1993; Adams & Nowak 2001, 2003). AGD is a significant problem for Atlantic salmon growers in Tasmania and at present is controlled by bathing in fresh water once a presumptive diagnosis has been made (see review by Munday, Zilberg & Findlay 2001).