ASSESSMENT OF OCCURRENCE OF Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) in SOUTH TAMIL NADU

Abstract

Disease surveillance work was carried out for the occurrence of Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) in South Tamil Nadu during the period of September 2017 to May 2018 covering the districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi. For the assessment of occurrence of EHP in South Tamil Nadu, samples of Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon were collected. A total of 73 shrimp samples were collected from shrimp farms and were diagnosed for the presence of EHP. Out of 73 shrimp samples collected, 27 (36.98%) samples were positive for EHP. The average Vibrio sp count of water and soil collected from EHP infected ponds were 5.083×103 (CFU/ml) and 5.62×103 (CFU/g) respectively, whereas the average Vibrio sp count of water and soil collected from EHP uninfected ponds were 6.33×103 (CFU/ml) and 3.23×104 (CFU/g) respectively. The screening of EHP was done with primers that targets 18s rRNA of the EHP.