Symptoms, Causes, How to Prevent, and Overcome Shrimp MBV

Monodon baculovirus or MBV shrimp is a harmful disease that attacks the internal organs of all shrimp stages. Apart from not having a cure yet, this disease is a disease that spreads easily and quickly. Want to know what causes, symptoms, dangers, and how to prevent the MBV virus in shrimp? Read more in this article, come on!

What is MBV? 

Shrimp MBV is a virus that is classified into groups Baculoviridae and form inclusion bodies that are eosinophilic in the attacked tissue. This virus can be found in all stages of tiger shrimp, from larvae, post-larvae, juvenile to adult shrimp. However, the onset of the disease is most common in the juvenile and adult stages (28-60 days and 110 days old). 

Shrimp MBV disease is classified as a disease caused by a virus, to be precise Baculovirus type A containing DNA stranded double as the type of nucleic acid. Histologically, the organs of the shrimp that are attacked by MBV are gills, hepatopancreas, and intestinal epithelium. Hypertrophic eosinophils And occlusion bodies on the nucleus of the gill cells will appear when the shrimp is attacked by MBV. Damage to the gill cells causes respiratory system disturbances, so that the shrimp often rise to the surface and swim to the edge of the pond. Meanwhile, hepatopancreatic cells also undergo changes in form hypertrophied eosinophils. Damage to the hepatopancreas causes cell decay and cell lysis, thus disrupting the shrimp's body's metabolic processes and causing death in a short time.

Even so, information about the MBV virus is still very limited and not much has been revealed, both regarding its biological properties and effective ways of dealing with infection. Until now, the process of shrimp infection can be infected with MBV and the development of MBV infection in shrimp is also not known with certainty. 

Symptoms of MBV Disease 

In shrimp that have been infected with MBV, clinical symptoms that often occur in ponds are the direction of shrimp swimming which is always to the edge of the pond, low appetite, empty stomach contents, and looking weak. In addition, visually the color of the shrimp also turns red on each segment, then the gills and body of the shrimp are attached by epicomenial organisms. The presence of MBV infection in shrimp can also be identified by the appearance of hypertrophy of hepatopancreatic cells and examination of feces containing occlusion bodies.

Prolonged attacks of MBV can cause acute death in large numbers after 1-7 days from the appearance of the initial symptoms. However, there are also shrimp infected with MBV that can survive until they reach harvest age, but their growth, production, and performance decline significantly.

How to Prevent MBV 

MBV disease in shrimp is very terrible. Therefore, before MBV attacks shrimp, you need to take steps to prevent this virus. MBV prevention can be done in the following ways:

1. Only sow virus-free fry or SPF fry (Specific Pathogen Free)
2. Provide calcium hypochlorite 30-40 ppm to free water from viruses.
3. Mixing beta 1-3 glucan immunostimulants or vitamin C into feed.
4. Avoid sudden changes in water quality.
5. Change pond water regularly.
6. Disinfection of ponds.

However, if the shrimp are infected with MBV before you have time to handle it, here's how to treat MBV disease in shrimp or fry:

1. Siphon, to ensure the cleanliness of the pond and remove dead shrimp.
2. Water recirculation to remove virus-contaminated water.
3. Strengthen immunity with Vitamin C, minerals, and garlic.
4. Doing isolation, by limiting and tightening the use of equipment and activities in the pond.
5. Tighten feed management.
6. Tighten biosecurity with CPD and BSD.

Prevent MBV in Shrimp with the Aquaculture Consultation Feature on eFarm