New genotypes of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and Taura syndrome virus (TSV) from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and Taura syndrome virus (TSV) are highly pathogenic to penaeid shrimp and have caused significant economic losses in the shrimp culture industry around the world. During 2010 and 2011, both WSSV and TSV were found in Saudi Arabia, where they caused severe mortalities in cultured Indian white shrimp Penaeus indicus. Most outbreaks of shrimp viruses in production facilities can be traced to the importation of infected stocks or commodity shrimp.

Characterization and molecular methods for detection of a novel spiroplasma pathogenic to Penaeus vannamei.

Traditionally, Spiroplasma spp. have only been isolated from the surfaces of flowers and other plant parts, from the guts and hemolymph of various insects, and from vascular plant fluids (phloem sap) and insects that feed on these fluids. In this article, we report the first pathogenic spiroplasma to be discovered in shrimp and the results of its characterization through histological evaluation, in situ hybridization assays, transmission electron microscopy, 16S rRNA sequence homology, and injection infectivity studies.

Fecal samples as DNA source for the diagnosis of Necrotizing Hepatopancreatitis (NHP) in Penaeus vannamei broodstock.

Necrotizing Hepatopancreatitis (NHP) is a severe disease of cultivated penaeid shrimp caused by a pleomorphic, gram-negative, intracellular rickettsia-like bacterium. Current diagnostic methods for this disease are invasive, requiring dissection of the animal to perform histopathological analysis. In Colombia, NHP affects mainly broodstock, being a major cause of mortalities in maturation laboratories.