Two Japanese research groups have discovered a new tool for diagnosing Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) in shrimp.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan Science and Technology Agency announced the discovery of the diagnostic method last week.
The disease has been blamed for causing billions of US dollars in damage to the farmed shrimp industry throughout Southeast Asia. Las year, scientists determined that an infected version of the vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria was the root cause.
Not only can the new diagnostic method detect the bacteria, but can also differentiate between bacteria that carries the disease and benign bacteria “with 100 percent accuracy,” both groups said in a joint statement.
The new method is part of a joint project, “Development of Aquaculture Technology for Food Security and Food Safety in the Next Generation.” The project is being carried out by Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences and National Research Institute of Aquaculture in Japan, and in Thailand, the Department of Fisheries, Kasetsart University, Chulalongkorn University and Walailak University.
