Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) has emerged as a significant protozoan disease affecting Litopenaeus vannamei in recent years. Caused by Microsporidia, it primarily infects the hepatopancreas, leading to damage, growth retardation, variable growth rates, and mortality. Reported cases have been documented in various countries including Thailand, Vietnam, China, Brunei, India, Indonesia, and Venezuela. Unlike acute infectious diseases such as monodon baculovirus (MBV), white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), yellow head virus (YHV), and Taura syndrome virus (TSV) which swiftly cause shrimp mortality, EHP typically manifests as a subacute or chronic infection, gradually impeding growth without immediate massive mortalities. Nonetheless, it continues to incur economic losses through growth retardation, decreased immunity, feed wastage, compromised production and quality, and heightened risks of concurrent diseases, comparable to acute infections.
Different types of diseases necessitate distinct diagnostic approaches. Rapid diagnostics are pivotal for acute infections to complement quarantine or eradication measures. In contrast, management strategies for subacute or chronic infections may involve environmental improvements, functional feeds, nutritional adjustments, and emergency harvests, besides eradication. The choice of strategy relies on factors like pathogen load, tissue damage extent, and environmental considerations. Focusing on EHP infection, this study compares pathological changes with molecular diagnostics for over 100 infections shrimp from different shrimp pounds, revealing a correlation between pathological severity and pathogen load. Based on this finding, it is envisaged that a diagnostic method associating with tissue damage severity could be developed, providing insights into subsequent management decisions through novel diagnostic systems assessing the severity of shrimp tissue pathology.