AHPND/EMS is an important emerging shrimp disease. Affected shrimp would stop feeding, appear lethargic, and eventually die. Causing large-scale shrimp die-offs, AHPND/EMS has led to huge economic losses to shrimp farming industry.  Typical signs of AHPND/EMS infection, found mainly on the digestive tracts of shrimp, include empty gastrointestinal tract; abnormal shrunken whitish hepatopancreases. Damaged in the hepatopancreatic system, including sloughing of hepatopancreas tubule epithelial cells, resulting in weakness and death in shrimp.

Taking advantage of technology transferred from the University of Arizona, Prof. Donald Lightner’s group and National Cheng Kung University, Prof. Chu-Fang Lo’s group, GeneReach has successfully developed the IQ Plus™ AHPND/EMS Toxin 1 Kit based on iiPCR technology, which is highly sensitive and specific. IQ Plus™ AHPND/EMS Toxin 1 Kit is specially designed for on-site detection in the farm. With the use of compact and portable equipment, the assay has been simplified for easy and fast operation at pond-side than conventional assays. The results produced from IQ Plus™ AHPND/EMS Toxin 1 Kit are very helpful for shrimp disease control program in the shrimp farming industry.

With a great deal of research ongoing on AHPND/EMS, GeneReach reserves the right to modify and update IQ Plus™ AHPND/EMS Toxin 1 Kit accordingly.

As mentioned previously, the presence of V. parahaemolyticus containing the AHPND/EMS-virulence plasmid, which carries the toxin 1 sequence, could damage the shrimp’s hepatopancreases. The non-virulent V. parahaemolyticus strains, which contain the incomplete AHPND plasmid with toxin 1 deletion, have been reported. The V. parahaemolyticus containing incomplete plasmid can become virulent after picking up the toxin 1 sequence. A supplemental PCR diagnostic assay targeting the most stable region of plasmid is also available from GeneReach.