Aquaculture America 2024

February 18 - 21, 2024

San Antonio, Texas

ESTIMATING THE TRUE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DISEASES: THE CASE OF EDWARDSIELLOSIS

 

Ganesh Kumar* , Carole Engle, Suja Aarattuthodi, Jonathan van Senten, Shraddha Hegde,

Lester Khoo, Larry Hanson, Mark Peterman, and Larry Dorman

Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, Delta Research and Extension Center,

 Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Stoneville, Mississippi- 38756, United States of America



 

Quantifying the economic loss associated with any aquatic diseases is often confounded due to coinfections and/or comorbidity . Most estimations of economic losses from diseases include calculating revenue losses or the value of lost production . The lack of accounting for true costs  results in spurious extrapolations of estimated loss values. The proper  economic analytical  method would be to estimate the loss of “profits” due to disease which includes a detailed estimation of cost and returns in the presence and absence of disease .  Edwardsiellosis of catfish  caused by  E. ictaluri  and  E. piscicida remains  one of the most  significant diseases in U.S. catfish aquaculture . Economic losses related to this disease are currently unknown. This work sheds light on the losses associated with  E. ictaluri  and  E. piscicida in catfish aquaculture. The robust economic approach  employed  is grounded i n farm-level production data and  long-term disease trends in the industry. Direct farm-level economic losses from Edwardsiellosis ranged from         -$3,485 /ha to -$13,320/ha causing industrywide economic losses of -$5.2 to -$17.6 million/year. The lost revenue due to Edwardsiellosis ranged from -$8.4 to -$24.8 million/year causing a negative economic impact of -$15.5 to -$45.9 million per year. The economic losses and negative impacts of Edwardsiellosis are relatively greater on the  foodfish sector compared to the fingerling sector. This work provides a platform for a more accurate estimation of the true economic impacts of diseases for aquaculture sectors for which commercial farm data is available.