Occurrence of pathogenic shrimp viruses in selected wild crab species of Sunderban, India

Abstract

Diseases in brackishwater aquaculture systems are the major hindrance to the growth of shrimp industry in India, with white spot viral disease being the most devastating one causing crop failure leading to heavy economic losses. In this study, wild crab species viz., Uca spp. and Sesarma spp., which are frequent dwellers surrounding the shrimp culture ponds, were screened for the presence of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) and hepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV). Out of total 66 samples screened, presence of WSSV and IHHNV was detected in 18.2 and 1.5% of the samples, respectively. Results of the present study indicate that wild crab species found in and around shrimp ponds could act as carriers of shrimp pathogenic viruses and their effective control is essential for prevention of shrimp viral diseases.

Co-Infection of Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV) and White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) in the Wild Crustaceans of Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago, India

“…Among the pathogens, WSSV is considered as the most devastating pathogen as it brings mass mortality and crop losses in the crustacean aquaculture sector. The WSSV was first reported in 1992, since then it has emerged as the dreadful pathogen known to infect a majority of the shrimp and crab species in various countries and remains a global challenge to the aquaculture industry [ 24 , 48 ]. Whereas IHHNV may not cause mass mortality but known to incur slow and stunted growth, resulting in severe economic losses [ 49 ].…”

“…Co-infection was found higher in P. monodon than any other shrimp species which is also validated with the earlier reports in which the infection of WSSV and IHHNV was higher in P. monodon [ 39 , 40 , 41 ] and clearly indicates that these Islands alike Southeast Asian countries are within the geographical range of these viruses [ 3 , 17 , 60 ]. Natural viral infections with a wide range of prevalence were also observed in wild crabs of the Asian region [ 13 , 24 , 51 , 61 ]. On the other hand, the low level of co-infection in wild crabs observed in the present study cannot be overlooked as the crabs may serve as reservoirs to spread these viruses [ 23 , 48 ].…”

“…The incidences of viral diseases in aquaculture species, particularly crustaceans such as shrimps and crabs have been well studied [ 5 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. On the other hand, studies on viral infections in wild marine crustaceans are restricted to few reports [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. It is also reported that once these infections were established it would have an impact on wild crustaceans [ 29 ].…”

“…Further, the infected hosts and vectors may assist in introducing or spreading of these viruses into new geographical locations [ 35 ]. Although there is no effective treatment to cure the viral infections in crustaceans, biosecurity measures such as avoiding the source of infection, disease-free broodstocks or seeds, maintaining better water quality, augmenting the disease resistance of the host, and hindering the disease transmission process are the major requisites to put the viral infection under control in culture conditions which may not be feasible in endemic areas of these viruses [ 24 , 36 ].…”

Nucleic acid amplification‐based methods for diagnosis of shrimp viral diseases

“…The WOAH‐certified kits are being widely used by many researchers, worldwide 52–54 . However, it seems that the other diagnostic kits are not commonly used in scientific studies, except for the single‐tube WSSV detection kit (GeNei, India), which has been cited in a few research articles and has a detection limit of 10 viral particles per reaction, with detection times ranging from ~3.5 to 4 h 55–57 …”