Taura syndrome
| Taura syndrome | |
|---|---|
| Virus classification | |
| Group: | Group IV ((+)ssRNA) |
| Order: | Picornavirales |
| Family: | Dicistroviridae |
| Genus: | Aparavirus |
| Species: | Taura syndrome virus |
Taura syndrome is one of the more devastating diseases affecting the shrimp farming industry worldwide.
Taura syndrome (TS) was first described in Ecuador during the summer of 1992. In March 1993, it returned as a major epidemic and was the object of extensive media coverage. Retrospective studies have suggested a case of Taura syndrome might have occurred on a shrimp farm in Colombia as early as 1990 and the virus was already present in Ecuador in mid-1991. Between 1992 and 1997, the disease spread to all major regions of the Americas where whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is cultured. The economic impact of TS in the Americas during that period might have exceeded US$2 billion by some estimates.
The 1992 Ecuadorian TS epidemic occurred concurrently with an outbreak of black leaf wilt disease in banana plantations. The outbreak of black leaf disease led to an increase in fungicide usage within the Taura River basin district near the city of Guayaquil. The fungicides propiconazole (Tilt, Ciba-Geigy) and tridemorph (Calixin, BASF) used to control black leaf, ran off into nearby ponds and were initially thought to be responsible for the disease. Analytical data demonstrated propiconazole in water, sediments and hepatopancreas tissues of shrimp harvested from affected farms in Ecuador. No other pesticides were discovered.
In January 1994, at the request of Ciba-Geigy, a workshop on Taura syndrome was held at the Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory of the University of Arizona. Experts from several countries with expertise in shrimp and insect pathology, shrimp nutrition, toxicology, myocology, water quality and farm management participated in the workshop. Industry representatives also participated. The group developed recommendations as to the standardization of the research on TS and suggested that studies be done to evaluate whether fungicides or as-yet unrecognized agents were responsible for the syndrome.
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