15th meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health

The 15th meeting was held from 21-23 November 2016, in Bangkok, Thailand. A special session was held on addressing the use of anti-microbial substances in aquaculture and the development of anti-microbial resistance. This is an issue of global concern for both human and animal health, and it had been addressed by a resolution at FAO’s Thirty-ninth Conference in June 2015. The meeting reviewed in detail the status of aquatic animal disease in the region.

On behalf of the network, the NACA Secretariat would like to express our profound condolences to the people of Thailand regarding the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest serving monarch. His Majesty was reknowned for his personal involvement in and commitment to development for the people of Thailand and the region, establishing his first rural development project in Huai Mongkol village of Hua Hin in 1952.

NACA's Director General Dr Cherdsak Virapat was interviewed on the "Around the World" radio programme of Saranrom (AM 1575 kHz), concerning the mission and role of NACA in regional food security. Please note the interview is in Thai language.

Guidebook on farmer-to-farmer extension approach for small-scale freshwater aquaculture

The success stories of many small-scale farmers in both Asian and African countries have brought insights on the effectiveness and self-sustaining mechanism of the farmer-to-farmer approach of aquaculture extension. This document will only serve as a guide on how to implement farmer-to-farmer approaches on small-scale freshwater aquaculture extension. Translations of the guidebook are available in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, English, French, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Nepali and Thai.

A new and improved PCR detection method for Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) based on a gene encoding a spore wall protein

Hepatopancreatic microsporidiosis (HPM) caused by Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) is a newly emerging disease of cultivated shrimp in Asia. Current evidence indicates that it can be associated with severe growth retardation that may not be clearly evident until the second month of culture and may cause low continuous mortality in the case of very severe infections. We present a new method for detecting EHP that has superior specificity to the first generation SSU-PCR developed in 2009.