Monitoring shrimp diseases should be conducted regularly and comprehensively, covering all aspects of the shrimp pond. This effort is essential to prevent diseases that could result in significant losses for shrimp farmers.

In recent years, shrimp diseases have become a growing concern due to their high prevalence and devastating impacts. Chronic shrimp diseases like Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) and Enterocytozoon Hepatopenaei (EHP) have caused substantial losses in shrimp farming operations.

A critical aspect of shrimp disease detection is expanding the scope beyond just cultured shrimp and water samples. Monitoring should also include other pond elements, such as pond sediment, invasive wild organisms, and even shrimp feed. By examining these factors, shrimp farmers can identify disease sources across all pond components early enough to prevent outbreaks.

This article explores monitoring shrimp diseases from various sources and outlines essential steps that can be applied to shrimp ponds.
 

Identifying Pathogen Sources

Shrimp feed, pond sediment, and wild organisms can act as vectors for pathogens, posing a significant risk for disease outbreaks if not managed properly. Data from CeKolam, a leading shrimp disease detection company, indicate that these elements often carry pathogens at higher rates than pond water itself.

Positivity Rate of Pond Elements:

• Shrimp Feed: 43.26%
• Shrimp Samples: 34.22%
• Pond Sediment: 24.46%
• Wild Organisms: 17.07%
• Pond Water: 12.59%
• Postlarvae (PL): 3.21%

Among shrimp samples, the most commonly detected diseases include EHP, AHPND, Infectious Myonecrosis Virus (IMNV), and White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV). These findings highlight the importance of routine monitoring to identify and address potential disease threats before they escalate into outbreaks.

Optimal Timing for Disease Monitoring

CeKolam provides curated data on disease incidence across shrimp farms in Indonesia, serving as a guide for scheduling disease monitoring.

Disease Positivity Rate Trends:

• EHP: Peaks in January and November
• AHPND: Peaks between June and August
• IMNV: Peaks between February and May
• IMNV Positivity Rates: Generally lower than other diseases

To ensure timely monitoring, disease checks should ideally be conducted 1-2 months before the peak positivity rate for specific diseases. These insights can inform a precise schedule for sample testing. However, the best preventive measure remains identifying the pond's microbial diversity, including potential pathogens.

Assessing Microbial Diversity in Shrimp Ponds

A powerful technology for assessing microbial diversity in shrimp ponds is Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). This advanced molecular technology enables rapid and accurate identification of microbial diversity within the pond ecosystem.

NGS performs parallel sequencing of millions of DNA fragments simultaneously, a significant improvement over traditional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), which can only analyze one fragment at a time.

In shrimp farming, maintaining a healthy pond environment is critical. Assessing microbial diversity helps farmers understand the types of microorganisms present, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and their impacts on shrimp health. Early detection of potential disease threats allows for proactive prevention strategies. The results of microbial diversity assessments can also guide the application of treatments, such as probiotics, vitamins, and feed additives.

Research supports NGS as a more time-efficient and cost-effective method compared to traditional culture techniques, which require extended periods (over 24 hours) for microorganisms to grow. Additionally, NGS offers greater accuracy, avoiding the biases and errors often associated with chemical and enzymatic processes in culture methods.

Adopting NGS in shrimp farming is not just a modern solution but a long-term investment in sustainable aquaculture.

CeKolam’s NGS Services

CeKolam offers Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology to simplify shrimp disease monitoring through its AquaCheck and ProCheck services.

• AquaCheck: Provides insights into microbial diversity, including pathogens in pond water, helping to safeguard shrimp health.
• ProCheck: Identifies microbial diversity in shrimp feed or probiotic products, ensuring a better understanding of shrimp nutrition.

Additionally, CeKolam provides specific disease detection services for AHPND, EHP, WSSV, IMNV, and more.

To streamline monitoring efforts, CeKolam has developed a comprehensive Health Plan Table based on disease prevalence data. This table helps farmers adopt a data-driven approach to prevent shrimp pond diseases effectively.



CeKolam is an initiative by Nusantara Genetics (Nusantics), offering a wide range of shrimp disease detection and health monitoring services. By leveraging CeKolam’s advanced disease monitoring technology, shrimp farmers can detect potential threats early and prevent costly outbreaks.

With CeKolam by Nusantics, achieve early pathogen detection for higher farming profits. Protect your shrimp ponds with NGS services from CeKolam!

Explore our services here.

 

Source:

https://nusantics.com/id/blog/next-generation-sequencing-technology-discover-the-microbial-diversity-in-your-shrimp-pond