March 5, 2008

White Tail Disease strikes Australia
 

White Tail Disease (WTD) has been detected in farmed giant freshwater prawns in Queensland, Australia.

The broodstock, which was originally sourced from the Flinders River in North Queensland, and juveniles from a research facility in Townsville, has been infected.

The source of the outbreak is unknown at present.

The World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) said there are no control measures and vaccination is prohibited.

The White Tail Disease causes lethargy, anorexia and opaqueness of abdominal muscle in post-larvae and adult prawns. The opaqueness could lead to the degeneration of telson and uropods in severe cases, and some infected prawns are observed to have lost their uropods. The prominent clinical sign of the disease is the whitish appearance of the tail, and mortality rate is 100 percent within two to three days after the appearance of opaqueness.