Analysis of Atlantic white shrimp in the Charleston area for white spot syndrome virus using Shrimple[R] and real-time PCR.

Since its first appearance in shrimp culture facilities in Taiwan in the early 1990s, white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) has spread around the globe. It was seen in the wild and observed in South Carolina in 1997. WSSV is highly virulent and known to be fatal to white shrimp in cultured as well as wild populations. The possible presence of WSSV off the coast of South Carolina could devastate wild populations and negatively affect the shrimp industry and therefore the local economy. A study is being conducted, therefore, to determine the incidence of the disease in reproductive adults in the wild in several Southeastern states. This study is a small part of a larger project, and focuses on the presence of WSSV in Atlantic white shrimp, Litopenaeus setiferus, in the Charleston area. One hundred thirty-three shrimp samples were tested for WSSV using Shrimplea and real-time PCR. None of them were confirmed to be positive.