A virus found in farmed salmon is more transmissible to wild salmon in British Columbia than previously thought, and its origin can be traced back to Europe, indicating it may have been brought to the province with the arrival of salmon farming in the 1980s, according to new a new study published Thursday.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia and the Strategic Salmon Health Initiative -- a partnership between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Genome BC and the Pacific Salmon Foundation -- traced samples of the piscine orthoreovirus-1 (PRV) found in wild Chinook salmon to Atlantic salmon farms in Norway.