Many shrimp farming areas in Nghe An are affected by white spot disease.
During the main shrimp farming season of the year, many farming areas in Quynh Luu district (Nghe An) have recorded the phenomenon of mass shrimp deaths. Professional agencies have determined that the shrimp deaths were due to white spot disease.
30 hectares of shrimp farms in Quynh Bang commune are infected with disease
Despite having accumulated a lot of experience in shrimp farming and proactively applying preventive measures, this year's farming season still caused significant losses for farmers at the Quynh Bang Agricultural Cooperative, Quynh Bang Commune (Quynh Luu). Of the total of more than 80 hectares of ponds and lagoons stocked with shrimp, nearly 30 hectares were infected with disease, causing mass shrimp deaths.
According to Mr. Ho Dinh Anh - owner of a shrimp pond in Quynh Bang commune, shrimp fry that have just been released for 5-15 days show signs of disease and die very quickly. Mr. Anh's family has all 3 ponds and ponds where the fry have been released, all the shrimp died, causing hundreds of millions of dong in damage. Many other pond owners in Quynh Bang commune also suffered heavy losses due to shrimp infected with disease.
Mr. Ho Dang Tam - Director of Quynh Bang General Agricultural Cooperative said that the cause of shrimp death is believed to be due to polluted water environment, hot weather and poor quality shrimp breeds.
“The shrimp were released 5-15 days ago, too young to clearly identify the disease, but the farmers did not report in time, making it difficult to take samples for testing to determine the cause of the disease. Currently, the cooperative continues to monitor the disease situation to report to superiors,” Mr. Tam shared.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quynh Luu district, the whole district has released more than 100 hectares of shrimp out of a total of 465 hectares planned for shrimp farming for the main crop in 2025. However, disease outbreaks have occurred in some localities, mainly in Quynh Bang commune. The main crop release season this year lasts from early April to the end of June. This is also the period when the weather is complicated, the temperature is high, the water environment is volatile, and the resistance of shrimp is reduced. Therefore, diseases have conditions to arise and spread quickly.
Mr. Tran Vo Ba - Deputy Head of Nghe An Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine said that regarding the phenomenon of concentrated shrimp deaths in Quynh Bang commune, the Department has taken samples and conducted tests to determine the cause and detected some dangerous pathogens such as white spots, acute hepatopancreatic necrosis. In particular, attention is being paid to a new disease - TPD (white opaque liver) in white-leg shrimp.
“Recently, the specialized agency has had the test results of 6/10 samples of dead shrimp, negative for TPD, but positive for white spot disease. Currently, the Department is specifically reviewing the area infected with white spot to provide chemicals for people to treat the disease,” Mr. Ba informed.
Raising awareness of disease prevention
In fact, when shrimp show signs of infection, many households choose to discharge pond waste into the environment instead of reporting to authorities. This not only directly affects the environment, but also increases the risk of disease spreading to neighboring areas.
The provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine recommends that localities strengthen direction and supervision of farming areas, and educate people about the importance of taking samples for testing; absolutely avoid self-treatment and discharge of pond water when the cause has not been determined and there are no proper technical treatment measures.
For areas where shrimp are being farmed, people need to closely monitor shrimp health, check hydrological and hydrochemical factors; supplement vitamins and minerals, increase resistance; fence to prevent crustaceans from entering, carefully treat input water; should not release new breeds in areas with epidemics. In addition, it is necessary to apply bio-safe shrimp farming processes, such as 2-3 stages of farming to reduce the risk of disease spread.
Currently, the provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine is requesting localities with shrimp farming areas to fully and promptly report on the disease situation. Besides the weather factor, one reason for the outbreak is that many households do not comply with the release schedule and do not really pay attention to disease prevention when most of them are farming in an extensive manner.
"For ponds and lagoons that have been infected with disease, people need to implement solutions to treat the ponds and lagoons according to the correct process, then release the fry for breeding," Mr. Tran Vo Ba recommended.
White spot disease in shrimp is caused by a virus, with symptoms of poor activity, sudden increase in appetite and then stopping eating. Swimming sluggishly at the water surface or drifting to shore. Observe the shrimp shell for many white spots on the cephalothorax, 5th and 6th abdominal segments and spreading all over the body. Sometimes the shrimp also show signs of red body. When white spots appear, after 3-10 days, the shrimp die en masse with a high mortality rate, from 80% to 100%.
