The Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health meets annually to discuss regional disease issues including emerging disease threats. This is the report of the seventh meeting, held 15-16 December 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. The report discusses emerging disease problems and regional response including to:

• Finfish diseases: Edwardsiella tarda, E. ictaluri, big belly associated with a new Vibrio sp., Streptococcus dysgalactiae, S. agalactiae, Francisella sp., Tenacibaculum maritimum, Nocardia seriolae, Flavobacterium columnare, koi herpes virus, spring viraemia of carp, grass carp reovirus, virual nervous necrosis, red sea iridovirus.
• Crustacean diseases: Penaeus monodon polyhedrovirus (monodon baculovirus), P. vannamei polyhedrovirus (Baculovirus penaei), yellowhead virus, whitespot syndrome virus, taura syndrome virus, infectious myonecrosis virus, muscle cramp syndrome, P. vannamei nodavirus, abdominal segment deformity disease, monodon slow growth syndrome, Macrobrachium baculovirus, M. rosenbergii hepatopancreatic parvovirus, M. rosenbergii nodavirus, milky lobster disease.
• Ampibian diseases: Rana trigrina ranavirus.

Other issues discussed include:

• Outcomes from the OIE General Session and Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission meeting, 2008.
• Current global aquatic animal health issues and opportunities for collaboration with other regions.
• Import requirements for live aquatic animals and their products for the European Union.
• Disease reporting, including to the OIE and a review of the Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report.
• Development of a global online reporting system (WAHIS) of OIE.
• Progress in implementation of the the Regional Technical Guidelines on Health management for the Responsible Movement of Live Aquatic Animals.
• Identification and designation of regional aquatic animal health resources, including experts, centres and reference laboratories.
• Regional and international cooperation.