Yellowhead Disease (YHV)

Cause

The causative agent is due to the yellow head virus (YHV) and gill-associated virus (GAV) complex. Currently, YHV is reported to have 6 different genotypes.

Diagnosis

Infected shrimp show yellow or brown color in the gills, yellow in the head of the chest, the whole body is pale, swollen digestive glands make the head appear yellow. The disease causes high mortality, which can be up to 100% after 3 to 5 days of infection. PCR result positive for YHV/GAV.

Figure 11: Tiger Shrimps die from YHV/GAV yellowhead infection.

 

Figure 12: Close-up of yellow-headed infected tiger shrimp YHV/GAV.

 

Figure 13: YHV/GAV yellow-headed infected white leg shrimp (top) compared to healthy shrimp (bottom).

Preventing and treating diseases

 

Applying methods of preventing diseases and preventing the spread of this disease by selecting and examining clean breeds before breeding, treating the quality of water sources and the surrounding environment accordingly.