Prevalence and Epidemiological Profiling of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) in Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) from the Parangipettai Coastal Water
Perumalla Papaiah
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Vasanthan Koothan
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Leo Luricson
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Keerthika Ganesan
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Yuvaraj Prabhu
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Tamil Selvan
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Ayyaru Gopalakrishnan
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Vijayanand Packiaraj *
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Arundathy Anandanatesan
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
Inayathullah Neyasudeen
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Pathology Division, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) continues to pose a serious threat to shrimp fisheries and aquaculture, yet long-term, seasonally resolved baseline data on its prevalence in wild shrimp populations remain limited, particularly in tropical coastal ecosystems where wild stocks serve as natural reservoirs for disease transmission. To address this fundamental gap, the present study assessed the seasonal prevalence and pathological features of WSSV infection in wild Penaeus monodon collected from nearshore and estuarine environments of the Parangipettai coastal waters during 2023–2025. Shrimp were sampled seasonally and screened for WSSV using a combination of wet-mount examination, histopathology, and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the WSV285 gene region. A total of 4,605 shrimp specimens were analyzed, of which 948 tested positive, yielding an overall WSSV prevalence of 20.6%. Clear seasonal variation in infection levels was observed, with the highest prevalence recorded during the post-monsoon season (25.7% and 25.4%), followed by summer (21.3% and 21.1%), moderate prevalence during the monsoon (18.4% and 19.5%), and the lowest infection rates during the pre-monsoon period (15.6% and 16.3%). Histopathological and wet-mount examinations revealed characteristic WSSV-associated lesions, including hypertrophied nuclei and prominent intranuclear inclusion bodies, confirming active viral infection. These findings identify the post-monsoon period as the most critical high-risk season for WSSV occurrence in the Parangipettai region and provide essential baseline information to support regional shrimp disease surveillance, risk assessment, and the development of seasonally informed management strategies for sustainable coastal aquaculture.
Keywords: White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), Penaeus monodon, epidemiology, seasonal prevalence