This is How to Overcome AHPND Disease in Shrimp!

In the aquaculture industry, shrimp farming is one of the sectors that has developed rapidly in recent years due to increasing market demand worldwide. Currently, in Indonesia, shrimp farming is one of the priority sectors to improve the national economy. However, there are still many problems faced by farmers, such as disease in shrimp. 

AHPND, Deadly and Harmful Shrimp Disease

One of the shrimp diseases that is endemic in Indonesia is Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) or what was originally known as Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS). AHPND is a disease that attacks shrimp and can cause sudden mass death of up to 100% which can be observed in 30-35 days. Therefore, this disease is a big threat for Indonesian farmers.

Wabah AHPND udang ini pertama kali muncul di Cina pada tahun 2009, lalu menyebar secara masif ke Vietnam (2010), Malaysia (2011), Thailand (2012), Meksiko (2013), Filipina (2015), Amerika Selatan (2016), dan Amerika Serikat (2019), seperti yang bisa dilihat pada gambar 1.

Sejak ditemukan pada tahun 2009, AHPND telah menjadi salah satu tantangan utama dalam budidaya udang. Produksi udang di wilayah yang terkena AHPND turun sekitar 60%, mengakibatkan kerugian sangat besar di seluruh Asia (Cina, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam). Selain itu,  penyakit AHPND menunjukkan kerentanan yang lebih besar pada Penaeus monodon dan Litopenaeus vannamei. 

Causes of AHPND Disease in Shrimp

Penyakit AHPND disebabkan oleh bakteri gram negatif yaitu Vibrio parahaemolyticus yang mengandung plasmid pVPA1 yang dapat mengeluarkan toksin bernama PirA dan PirB yang merupakan faktor virulensi utama.

PirA berikatan pada membran sel dan reseptor serta memfasilitasi pengenalan target secara spesifik, sedangkan toksin PirB berikatan dengan jaringan epitel hepatopankreas dan menginduksi kematian sel melalui pembentukan pori. Kedua toksin ini akan membentuk kompleks dan menghasilkan efek toksik yang tinggi.

Bakteri penyebab AHPND menargetkan kelenjar pencernaan (hepatopankreas) dan merusak sel hepatopankreas seperti R (resorptif), B (blister), F (fibrillar) dan E (embrionik) yang mengakibatkan disfungsi dan kematian besar-besaran pada udang di dalam kolam budidaya.

Ditemukan juga bahwa Vibrio oweensii, Vibrio campbellii, and Vibrio harveyi has a plasmid such as pVA1 indicating that the gene for this toxin can be transferred to various Vibrio species. 

How to Overcome AHPND Correctly 

AHPND disease is not incurable. Diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria in shrimp culture systems, such as AHPND, are generally controlled using appropriate management strategies. Some ways to deal with AHPND that you can do are:

1. Supplementing immunostimulants
2. Give probiotics
3. Give bacteriophage
4. Monitor water quality regularly
5. Controlling the right stocking density according to the environmental buffer capacity
6. Ensure seed quality
7. Maintain aeration 
8. Maintain the quality and quantity of feed

Those are the handling steps that you can take to control AHPND. See you in the next SIAR article!

To find out complete information about shrimp farming, you can visit eFarm!