| Shrimp farming is a small but growing industry in New Caledonia. Since 1993, "Syndrome 93" has been affecting New Caledonian shrimp farming industry every cold season, causing severe epizootic mortalities in grow-out ponds and significant losses. Highly pathogenic strains of Vibrio penaeicida are considered the etiological agent of the disease in Litopenaeus stylirostris. On one hand, studies demonstrated that healthy shrimp may carry V penaeicida for weeks with a high overall prevalence, regardless of any seasonal pattern or temperature conditions. On the other hand, larvae are free of V penaeicida and are also resistant to experimental infection. V penaeicida is frequently detected in incoming water pumped from the bays, which was shown, by a molecular... |
