After months of investigation by a research team led by Donald Lighter at the University of Arizona, the elusive pathogen causing early mortality syndrome (EMS) at shrimp farms in Southeast Asia has been identified, according to the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA).
The researchers found that EMS, more technically known as acute hepatopancreatic necrosis syndrome (AHPNS), is caused by a bacterial agent which is transmitted orally, colonizes the shrimp gastrointestinal tract and produces a toxin that causes tissue destruction and dysfunction of the shrimp digestive organ known as the hepatopancreas. It does not affect humans.
Lightner's team identified the EMS/AHPNS pathogen as a unique strain of a relatively common bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, that is infected by a virus known as a phage, which causes it to release a potent toxin. A similar phenomenon occurs in the human disease cholera, where a phage makes the Vibrio cholerae bacterium capable of producing a toxin that causes cholera’s life-threatening diarrhea.
In an effort to learn from past epidemics and improve future policy, the World Bank and the Responsible Aquaculture Foundation, a charitable education and training organization founded by the GAA, initiated a case study on EMS in Vietnam in July 2012. Its purpose was to investigate the introduction, transmission and impacts of EMS, and recommend management measures for the public and private sectors.
Research continues on the development of diagnostic tests for rapid detection of the EMS/AHPNS pathogen that will enable improved management of hatcheries and ponds, and help lead to a long-term solution for the disease. It will also enable a better evaluation of risks associated with importation of frozen shrimp or other products from countries affected by EMS.
Some countries have implemented policies that restrict imports of frozen shrimp or other products from EMS-affected countries. Lightner said frozen shrimp likely pose a low risk for contamination of wild shrimp or the environment because EMS-infected shrimp are typically very small and do not enter international commerce. Also, his repeated attempts to transmit the disease using frozen tissue were unsuccessful.
Since EMS was first reported in China in 2009, it has spread to Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, and now causes annual losses more than $1 billion. EMS outbreaks typically occur within the first 30 days after stocking a newly prepared shrimp pond, and mortality can exceed 70%.