Jaundice in Shrimp Heads? See How to Overcome It Here!

Jaundice on the head of the shrimp (Yellow Head Disease) is a disease characterized by the presence of a yellow color on the head of the shrimp, accompanied by a reddish looking tail. If shrimp are infected with YHD, the potential for mass mortality reaches up to 100% within 3-5 days after infection.

Shrimp infected with YHD disease will gradually die at the bottom of the pond. If the shrimp that you are cultivating are infected with this disease, but you find out about it too late, it will result in quite large losses.

For that, read this article completely to find out how to treat jaundice on the head of the shrimp!

What is YHD?

Yellow Head Disease (YHD) or yellow head disease in shrimp is a disease caused by a virus Yellow Head Virus (YHV). YHD disease first appeared in eastern Thailand in 1990-1991.

The YHV virus then spread to Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia. The spread is due to shrimp export and import activities, especially shrimp fry export activities. Shrimp fry infected with YHD disease do not show any symptoms in the early stages, so that the fry look physically healthy.

All types of shrimp can be a host for this disease, both in the form of fry and mature shrimp. This disease can last a long time in the body of the shrimp, until finally the shrimp show clinical symptoms. The following are the causes of yellow head disease in shrimp in general:

• Stressful Conditions during Cultivation

Viral amplification and related disease is triggered by physiological stress caused by overly volatile dynamics of pH and dissolved oxygen, or other environmental factors. Stress in shrimp can cause an increase in YHV and this disease is associated with molting stress.

• Poor Feed Management

Feeding is done excessively, causing overfeeding, can increase organic matter and trigger an increase in toxic compounds, so that the potential for YHV-infected shrimp.

• Pond Biosecurity is Not Good

Sterilization is an important process to kill disease-carrying pathogens, if this process is not carried out properly, disease will easily appear and infect shrimp. In addition, fry that do not have an SPF certificate (Specific Pathogen Free) and SPR (Specific Pathogen Resistant) are susceptible to disease.

Shrimp that have been infected with YHD, but discovered too late, will gradually cause death of up to 100% within 3-5 days from the appearance of clinical symptoms. 

Symptoms of YHD disease

Following are the clinical symptoms of YHD disease in shrimp:

1. Cephalothorax and hepatopancreas turn yellow
2. White and pale body color
3. Shrimp congregate at the edge of the pond and have no appetite (change in behavior)
4. The gills are pink to yellow
5. Systemic necrosis of cells of ectodermal and mesodermal origin
6. Very high eating activity followed by a sudden decrease in appetite can occur within 2-4 days after the appearance of clinical signs of the disease

For more details, you can see pictures of shrimp infected with YHD in the following table!

Shrimp attacked by YHD, at first their appetite and physical appearance still looked normal. However, after a while the shrimp's appetite tends to decrease drastically, resulting in an empty and pale shrimp intestine.

How to Prevent and Overcome YHD

YHD disease infection in shrimp can certainly be prevented. For this reason, you need to know how to prevent it properly, including: 

1. Choose shrimp fry with SPF (Specific Pathogen Free)
2. Keep the shrimp stress-free
3. Maintain water quality within the optimum range
   • The addition of probiotics to degrade organic waste and improve water quality
   • Siphon regularly so that the pond bottom is always in optimal condition
   • Always check the water quality regularly, if the water quality is in a range that is not optimal, then appropriate action can be taken immediately
4. Give quality feed to shrimp
5. Feed management to prevent overfeeding and decreasing water quality
6. Addition of vitamins and immunostimulants
7. Remove sediment and organic matter after the harvest season
8. Do not use antibiotics and other dangerous chemical compounds
9. If there are dead shrimp, take them and then burn them or bury them
10. Optimal pond preparation application

After knowing how to prevent YHD, you need to know that there is no effective vaccine or therapy to control YHV. However, you can take several actions to overcome them, as follows: 

1. Gradually reduce the feed content of 30-40% until shrimp mortality decreases
2. Restore the amount of feed by increasing the shrimp's appetite using ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and spirulina
3. Keep the condition of the pond normal by cleaning it regularly
4. Maintain water quality and add a waterwheel to maintain oxygen in the pond
5. Remove dead shrimp from the pond so that the infection does not spread to other shrimp

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