TAURA-SYNDROME, A DISEASE IMPORTANT TO SHRIMP FARMS IN THE AMERICA

Penaeus vannamei is the principal penaeid shrimp farmed in the America s and, by economic criteria, Taura syndrome is the most important viru s disease affecting its production. The dominant effect of Taura syndr ome is mortality of shrimp, which is usually highest in the first 40 d ays from stocking into shrimp ponds. Initially thought to be caused by agrochemical pollution, the aetiology of Taura syndrome is now known to be due to a newly described shrimp virus, the Taura syndrome virus (TSV). Shrimp that die from Taura syndrome disease have multifocal acu te necrosis of the cuticle epidermis and underlying tissue. Diagnosis of the disease is made by histopathological demonstration of the patho gonomic lesions in the integument of acutely moribund shrimp or by dem onstration of TSV in necrotic foci by in situ hybridization using a co mmercially available cDNA gene probe. Since the discovery of Taura syn drome in 1992 on shrimp farms in Ecuador, the disease has disseminated into virtually all major shrimp-growing areas in the Americas. Taura syndrome has not been documented from shrimp farms outside of the west ern hemisphere. Practical and effective means for control of Taura syn drome are important areas of research for the shrimp farming industry in the Americas.