WorldFish is seeking a Post Doctoral Fellow to coordinate and conduct research on emerging aquatic animal health challenges as a component of the Fish Health and Nutrition Research Cluster of the CGIAR Research Program on FISH. S/he will involve in epidemiological research on emerging fish diseases and engaging international and national research teams in Bangladesh, Egypt, Malaysia and other WorldFish focal and scaling countries and partners to deliver high quality research on aquatic animal health.

Tilapia lake virus is a newly emerging virus that is associated with significant mortalities in farmed tilapia. This fact sheet describes the threat to industry, clinical signs, diagnosis, risk factors, prevention and control options and actions that must be taken to minimise the impact of this disease on the global tilapia aquaculture industry. All countries with a tilapia industry must be vigilant and act quickly to investigate cases of mortalities in farms.

Recently, we released a warning of TiLV in Thailand and an improved RT-PCR detection methodology. The Fish Health Platform in Centex, BIOTEC/Mahidol University has also obtained positive test results for TiLV in other Asian countries where it has not yet been reported. Many countries have been translocating tilapia fry/fingerlings prior to and even after the description of TiLV. We have prepared a map listing countries with confirmed reports of TiLV infections and 43 other countries that we believe have imported infected fish.

This disease card published by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) provides information about tilapia lake virus (TiLV), a recently observed pathogen causing significant mortalities in cultured tilapia. The disease card provides details of the pathogen, modes of transmission, host range, geographical distribution, clinical signs, diagnostic methods, socio-economic significance, transmission risk and a list of available references. We urge laboratories to test for TiLV when abnormal tilapia mortalities occur.

The 73rd edition of the Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report contains information from 14 governments. The foreword provides information about the implementation of a National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD) in India.