Susceptibilidade do camarão-rosa Farfantepenaeus subtilis (Perez-Farfante, 1967) ao vírus da infecção hipodermal e necrose hematopoiética (IHHNV)

Abstract

Diseases are the main biological factor that can limit and discourage the shrimp culture worldwide. Virus infection is the main cause of impact and economic losses registered in this sector. The Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV) occurs in both wild and cultured shrimp, mainly in the juvenile and sub-adult phases, although it does not cause harm to human health. This pathogen is considered a low impact virus to Litopenaeus vannamei, causing a chronic disease called "Runt Deformity Syndrome" (RDS), which compromises the product quality and can have economic implications to shrimp industry. This study aimed at verifying response of the native species Farfantepenaeus subtilis in presence of the IHHN virus. The experiment utilized 200 healthy young shrimp weighing 2.56 ± 0.44g (mean ± standard deviation), kept in single 5.5L tanks, under monitored conditions similar to those found in shrimp culture farms. The animals have been challenged in two ways: “per os” and by intramuscular injection, each one with its control group. After three days of exposition to the virus, the animals were fed with a commercial food two times a day, when were observed behavior, mortality, moulting and the signs for the characteristic symptoms in species susceptible to this disease. The experiment was conducted during 30 days. The shrimp were sample randomly for total hemocytes counting, histological and molecular analyses. This study showed that the native species F. subtilis caught in Pacoti River Estuary (Eusébio - Ceará - Brazil) is susceptible to IHHNV infection.