Genetic variation of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone 1931) culture of Thailand

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is highly pathogenic to penaeid shrimp and has caused significant economic losses in the shrimp farming industry in Thailand. Genotyping analysis was done in 124 WSSV isolates from cultured Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. These samples were obtained during 2007–2014 from eight provinces in Thailand. We investigated five variable loci in the virus genome: deletions in two variable regions, VR14/15 and VR23/24, and three variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) located in open reading frame (ORF) 75, 125 and 94. WSSV genotype was characterized as (X_14/15, X_23/24) (N₇₅‐N₁₂₅‐N₉₄) where X is the number of base pair deletion in the variable region and N is the number of repeat units (RUs) in a specific ORF. The deletion pattern in VR14/15 and VR23/24 regions characterized three WSSV genotypes. The most prevalent genotype was (5950_14/15, 10971_23/24), and it was found in all studied areas. At least 33 genotypes of WSSV were analysed based on 3 VNTR loci, indicating that the VNTRs of WSSV genome are highly variable. From 124 WSSV samples, two samples presented the characteristic of all five variable loci similar to WSSV collected during 2010 in Saudi Arabia (5950_14/15, 10971_23/24) (3₇₅‐6₁₂₅‐7₉₄). Many different WSSV genotypes shown in this study as compared to previously reported genotypes in Thailand suggests current status of disease epidemiology, as well as probable movements of WSSV between countries.     

Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of oxytetracycline in vannamei shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) and the effect of processing on the residues in muscle and shell

The present study examined the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of oxytetracycline (OTC) in vannamei shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) after intra-sinus (10 mg/kg) and oral (10 and 50 mg/kg) administration and also investigated the net changes of OTC residues in the shrimp after the thermal, acid and alkaline processing methods. The hemolymph concentrations of OTC after intra-sinus dosing were best described by a two-compartment open model. The oral bioavailability was found to be 48.2 and 43.6% at doses of 10 and 50 mg OTC/kg, respectively. The peak hemolymph concentrations after 10 and 50 mg OTC/kg doses were 3.37 and 17.4 μg/ml; the times to peak hemolymph concentrations were 7 and 10 h. The elimination half-lives were found to be 15.0 and 11.5 h for the low and high dose, respectively. The residual OTC was rapidly eliminated from muscle with the elimination half-life value of 19.4 and 15.4 h, respectively, for the groups treated with doses of 10 and 50 mg/kg. The residual OTC levels in the muscle fell below the MRL (0.2 μg/g) at 72 and 96-h post-dosing at dose levels of 10 or 50 mg/kg, respectively. Residual OTC levels in muscle and shell were approximately 20–50% lower in the thermal treatment such as boiling, baking and frying. By the acid treatment, OTC residues were reduced to >80%, while those were reduced to around 30% by alkaline treatment.