The 84th edition of the Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report contains information from eleven governments. The foreword discusses meetings of the ad hoc Steering Committee of the Regional Collaboration Framework on Aquatic Animal Health in Asia and the Pacific.

Infection with DIV1 is an emerging disease in farmed Cherax quadricarinatus and Penaeus vannamei suffering a high mortality. This disease card provides information on signs of disease at pond and animal level (levels I - III diagnoses), the disease agent, known host range and distribution in the Asia-Pacific region, molecular diagnostic methods and provides key expert contact points.

In this issue:

Potential new species in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Sabaki tilapia (Oreochromis spilurus); Role of fish & fisheries in national nutrition of Pakistan; Success story of first fish farmer in India to be awarded ‘Padma Shri’; Insights into the fishing gear and ichthyofauna of major lentic water bodies of Kashmir Valley; NACA Newsletter.

This disease advisory describes the history, known host range, clinical signs and PCR detection methods for decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1). Preventative strategies are suggested. Currently known susceptible species of DIV1 include Penaeus vannamei, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Exopalaemon carinicauda, M. nipponense, Procambarus clarkii, and Cherax quadricarinatus. Clinical signs of infected P. vannamei are not typical, including slightly reddish body, hepatopancreatic atrophy with colour fading, and empty stomach and guts.

In this issue:

Urgent warning: Positive PCR detection results for infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) and decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) in captured Penaeus monodon from the Indian Ocean; COVID-19 news; Urgent announcement on usefulness of the lymphoid organ (LO) as an additional prime target for diagnosis of decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) in diseased P. vannamei; Fresh or frozen seafood?; Report of the Eighteenth Meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health; COVID-19 fallout could push half a billion people into poverty in developing countries; Simple techniques double crablet production.

From a survey of wild, adult Penaeus monodon of potential broodstock size from the Indian Ocean in April 2018, we obtained positive nested RT-PCR test results for infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) and positive nested PCR test results for DIV1. As a confirmatory step, a second round of nested PCR tests was carried out using new, in-house primers designed from regions of the respective viral genomes distant from the target regions used in the first round of tests. These results suggested the possibility that the grossly normal, PCR-positive captured P. monodon specimens might be infected with the respective viruses at the carrier level. If so, they might serve as potential vehicles for introduction of IMNV and/or DIV1 into crustacean culture systems, especially if they were used in hatcheries for production of PL for distribution to shrimp farmers without proper precautions in place.

We carried out laboratory injection challenges that employed extracts prepared from shrimp naturally-infected with decapod iridovirus 1 (DIV1). We found that diseased shrimp from the injection trials showed pathognomonic lesions for DIV1 in the hematopoietic tissue that matched those reported for DIV1 in P. vannamei from China (Qiu et al. 2017. Scientific Reports. 7). In addition, we also found distinctive lesions in the lymphoid organ that could be used as an additional indicator in confirming diagnosis of DIV1 disease. Also, the lesions from shrimp challenged with the 10x dilution were more severe than those from 100x dilution, and for some shrimp in the 100x dilution, the lesions were very clear in the LO but absent in the HPT. Altogether, the results suggested that histology of the HPT and LO could be used together to help in the diagnosis of DIV1 in conjunction with RT-PCR, amplicon sequencing and in situ hybridization (ISH) analysis. This is particularly important in confirming the presence of virulent isolates of DIV1 in new geographical locations.

In this issue:

Mahseer sanctuaries of Meghalaya: A conservation and recreational perspective; Impacts of climate change on aquaculture in Vietnam: A review of local knowledge; Simple means of water aeration adopted by progressive fish breeders in West Bengal, India; Breeding striped snakehead (Channa striata) using the concrete tank method in the Cangkringan Area, Special Region of Yogyakarta; NACA Newsletter.

In this issue:

Join us for the aquaculture event of the decade! 18th Meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health; New Director General of the Department of Fisheries, Thailand; Thailand holds National Sea Bass Fair; Tuskfish CMS 2.0 is available; Regional consultations on strengthening aquaculture governance and demographic changes in fishing communities; INFOFISH World Shrimp Conference and Exposition.

The 11th Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture (DAA11) marks 30 years since the Fish Health Section - Asean Fisheries Society (FHS-AFS) establishment and it will be celebrated in Malaysia. Local hosts, the Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DOF) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry together with the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Sarawak (MANRED) will be organising the event in cooperation with the FHS-AFS.