Cost-effectiveness of alternative disease management policies for Bacterial kidney disease in Atlantic salmon aquaculture

•Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) is an infectious disorder of the Salmonidae.•The cost-effectiveness of BKD controls for farmed Atlantic salmon are evaluated.•The control of BKD is economically beneficial.•Controls of intermediate stringency are more cost-effective than alternatives.

Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) is a systemic infectious disorder of the Salmonidae associated with increased mortality in Atlantic salmon a necessary cause of which is infection with Renibacterium salmoninarum. The cost-effectiveness of various possible national management policies to control this disease is investigated. It is concluded that the control of BKD is cost-effective, and that a policy of limiting the spread of R. salmoninarum through the detection of BKD-affected sites, the imposition of movement restrictions on these, and the requirement to eradicate R. salmoninarum before movement restrictions are lifted, is economically more beneficial for this disease than alternative policies of increased or reduced stringency.