FAO warned about the virus Tilapia Lake

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has issued a warning about TiLV virus.

Great damage in many countries

According to the Asia Pacific Aquaculture Center network (NACA), TiLV virus was first discovered in Israel in 2009 when up to 70% of the natural fish of a lake naturally died.

In 2009, both wild fish at Lake Kinneret , also known as the Sea of ​​Galilee , and commercial pond fish in Israel began to become ill with a high mortality rate of up to 70%. A few years later, fish in commercial ponds in Ecuador also died.

At first glance, these two diseases seem unrelated because fish in Israel show symptoms of brain and nerves, while fish in Ecuador suffer from liver symptoms. Then 32 outbreaks were investigated in 2015-2016 involving a large number of unidentified dead fish in the strain of farmed tilapia and red tilapia.

Global tilapia production is facing a huge risk due to TiLV virus.

In recent years, fish farms in Egypt have witnessed an increase in mass mortality in tilapia farming ponds during the summer months. Epidemiological surveys show that 37% of fish farms are affected in 2015 with an average mortality rate of 9.2% and an estimated economic loss of about $ 100 million / year.

Tilapia is a very important fish species for Egypt, accounting for 75% of fish consumption in the country. The Egyptian aquaculture industry is the largest producer of farmed fish in Africa (1.17 million tons in 2015) and is the third largest producer of tilapia after China and Indonesia.

Next, disease outbreaks on farmed tilapia took place in Thailand, where mortality rates were observed and recorded up to 20-90%. In July 2017, the Taiwan Agriculture Council (COA) announced that all 7 TiLV infected fish farms are located in Guangyin district and within 3 km of the first infected area.

Therefore, the city government ordered the inspection of all ponds within a 3 km radius of the infected area. When the test is completed, farms within a 5 km radius of this area and surrounding areas (Hsinchu) will continue to be inspected to ensure the virus does not spread.

Challenges for global seafood production

The COA emphasizes, although the virus is only contagious on tilapia and there is no risk of spreading it to humans , however infected fish cannot be cured. Therefore, the council asked to expand the inspection of 12 fish farms in the upper Shihmen Reservoir, although the area is not yet infected.

However, if spread to other areas of Taiwan, this virus could be harmful to the tilapia industry in this country. Taiwan is the sixth country to appear this virus, after Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel and Thailand. At this point, 8 countries and territories, including Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia and India have announced the epidemic.

FAO issued a warning, tilapia producing countries need a TiLV monitoring program. Currently, TiLV surveillance is being conducted in China, India, Indonesia and is expected to start in the Philippines. In addition, a private company is currently working to develop TiLV vaccine to prevent disease.

'It is not known whether the disease can be transmitted through frozen tilapia products, but it is possible that TiLV can be more widely distributed and the threat to tilapia farming at a global level is very large,' FAO warns.

How to prevent and fight disease Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) on tilapia

The disease is caused by Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) on tilapia.

Currently, there are no effective measures to control this disease, so measures should be taken after suspecting or detecting the disease caused by TiLV on tilapia, specifically:

1. If there is a phenomenon of tilapia dying many abnormalities, immediately report to the nearest veterinary agency to promptly implement preventive measures.
2. Tilapia breeding before stocking should be sampled to a qualified laboratory for screening for TiLV pathogens.
3. Absolutely do not transport live tilapia from diseased ponds to disease-free ponds / areas to limit the spread of disease.
4. Do not throw dead fish, diseased fish, dispose of sick pond water but have not been treated outside the environment to spread the disease. The dead fish pit must be away from water sources and residential areas at least 50 m. Use powdered lime to sprinkle into the hole and spray antiseptic around the pit area.
5. Apply biosecurity measures, strengthen pond management to limit the spread of pathogens through tools, means and people (using antiseptic and disinfection measures).

Tilapialakevirus (TiLV) is a recently discovered virus related to mass mortality in tilapia ponds.