PCR Based Detection of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) in Shrimp Post Larvae (PL) of Bangladesh

Shrimp aquaculture is a very promising and rapidly growing industry that contributes about 5% to national GDP in Bangladesh. Shrimp aquaculture is the second highest foreign currency earning source and 97% of the produced shrimp being exported. However, shrimp aquaculture suffered from different diseases particularly viral disease. White Spot Disease (WSD) alone losses tens of billion dollars in every year worldwide as well as in Asia, the industry suggests annual damages is about 4 billion USD. In Bangladesh, White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) infection in shrimp aquaculture alone destroys hundreds of million dollars per year. The detection of WSSV before releasing post larvae (PL) in aqua-farm is immensely important to mitigate this disease from the shrimp aquaculture industry of Bangladesh. In this investigation, a total of 65 PL of shrimp samples were collected from Cox’s Bazar (n=40 PL) and Satkhira (n=25 PL) of Bangladesh between 2015 and 2018. Samples were analyzed by conventional PCR using VP664 and VP28 genes specific primers. Among the 65 PL samples, 11 PL samples were found to be positive where six samples in Cox’s Bazar and five samples in Satkhira areas were found WSSV positive. The overall prevalence rate was 16.93% in the collected PL samples in Bangladesh. Though the infection rate of WSSV in shrimp PL was 16.93%, it will play a deleterious influence in shrimp aquaculture of Bangladesh. The present work suggests that the segregation of WSSV infected shrimp PL before releasing to the culture ponds/ghers is of immensely important to minimize or prevent the WSD infection in shrimp aquaculture.