Taiwan research team releases EMS detection test to public

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method to detect early mortality syndrome (EMS) in shrimp has been developed by a Tainan, Taiwan-based research team, reports Rapid Micro Methods.

The team was led by Chu-Fang Lo, dean of the college of life sciences at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in cooperation with Tim Flegel from Thailand.

Lo also announced that the primers and protocol were being put into the public domain, a move it is hoped could help to control outbreaks of the disease.

The team cooperated with Flegel from Mahidol University for the last few months and developed a PCR method to detect EMS, also called acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND).

“We decided to release, free for public access, detailed information on the sequences and protocols from our research for a PCR-based detection method for bacteria causing AHPND, since there are currently severe, widespread outbreaks of this disease,” Lo said.

She also noted that the bacteria causing AHPND belong to Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VP), but they have unique plasmids not present in non-pathogenic VP.

EMS outbreaks were characterised as AHPND, in the absence of any accompanying sign of an infectious agent, during the early cultivation period of approximately 35 days.

The rapid PCR method to determine if shrimp is infected with the bacterium that causes AHPND will be highly beneficial to the shrimp-producing industry, Lo said.

She noted that release of this critical information will assist interested stakeholders to develop measures to reduce the risk of AHPND outbreaks.