Project number: 2018-086
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $163,660.00
Principal Investigator: Melony J. Sellars
Organisation: Genics Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 28 Mar 2019 - 30 Jan 2020
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Biosecurity is the top R&D priority for Australia’s Prawn Farming industry, with the WSSV incursion crippling production in 2017 and 2018, due to the devastation WSSV incurs, Government eradication and biosecurity procedures. Pathogen testing in Australian farms is used sparingly due to it being costly, with slow data turnaround. Current methods commonly test for a single-pathogen in a single-test, being cost-prohibitive for multiple pathogens at $30-$80/test. Australian enterprises commonly test for 4-8 pathogens in any one sample, bringing the minimum spend to $120 and maximum spend $640 per sample. Shrimp MultiPath performs testing for 13 pathogens in a single test, being highly cost-effective with fast data turnaround (24-48h once at laboratory). There are also complex regulatory controls in place on testing of exotic prawn pathogens in Australia, and as such access to laboratories that can undertake exotics testing are limited, resulting in a lack of market competition.

Australia’s industry needs access to cost-effective, fast accurate methods for detecting multiple prawn pathogens, such as Shrimp MultiPath, for clinical disease confirmation, and surveillance in apparently-healthy animals. This will enable farmers to manage the biosecurity-risk posed by pathogen presence within their culture systems and put in-place affordable monitoring for exotic pathogen incursions.

To have Shrimp MultiPath recognised by Australia’s regulatory authorities as suitable for Australia’s farming industry to use for clinical disease confirmation, and surveillance in apparently-healthy animals, each pathogen test within the system needs comprehensive validation on clinical samples, in addition to the synthetic controls for every pathogen for which it is already validated. This project is a first-step to validate the three WSSV tests within Shrimp MultiPath for immediate regulatory approval. This will benefit all Australian Prawn Farmers, giving access to three WSSV approved tests for clinical disease confirmation, and surveillance in apparently-healthy animals that is sensitive, specific, rapid and affordable.

Objectives

1. Knowledge of the diagnostic performance of the three WSSV tests within Shrimp MultiPath compared to an OIE standard method and the new CSIRO AAHL WSSV qPCR method run at CSIRO AAHL.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-646-85217-1
Authors: Ralf Moser Melony Sellars Simon Firestone
Final Report • 2023-03-01 • 937.13 KB
2018-086-DLD.pdf

Summary

This report summarises the development and performance assessment of novel PCR based assays to monitor and detect the microsporidian Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) in Penaeid shrimp samples using a cost-effective and high-throughput approach.
The original Project objective was to collect White Spot Syndrome (WSSV) positive samples from infected shrimp ponds (international location) and to use the sample material to complete an assay validation pathway for Shrimp MultipathTM WSSV assays (SMP WSSV) in line with the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals 2021, Chapter 1.1.6. Principles and methods of validation of diagnostic assays for infectious diseases (https://www.oie.int/en/what-wedo/standards/codes-and-anuals/terrestrial-manual-online-access/). A large sampling effort was undertaken by colleagues in Soc Trang province, Vietnam, from one shrimp farm that observed “weak” shrimp on feeding tray and water surface of two independent ponds, suspected WSSV outbreak. Live animals (n = 576) were collected from two ponds and sent to Genics for testing / screening for a potential infectious agent. Instead of detecting WSSV in the shrimp specimens received a relatively high prevalence of EHP positive samples were established with the multiplexed
SMP assay. As further sampling efforts would have shifted the timeline of the commencement of the project too much and other means to validate WSSV assays in SMP were explored it was decided to use the sample set for SMP EHP validation purposes and pivot the project to develop new assay targets and real-time PCR assays for EHP in penaeid shrimp.

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