THE USE OF PROBIOTICS IN FEED AND POND WATER TO SUPPRESS THE GROWTH OR ACCUMULATION OF Vibrio Parahaemolyticus AND OTHER Vibrio SPECIES IN Litopanaeus vannamei SHRIMP

Disease pressure in all stages of shrimp production continues to be an escalating threat to the industry, particularly in Asia.  Vibrio parahaemolyticus is responsible for Early Mortality Syndrome / Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (EMS/AHPND), but other species of Vibrio also represent problematic pathogens contributing to various conditions related to "vibriosis".   As shrimp production is not conducted in a sterile environment, these pathogens are always present, though not always virulent.  Pathogenicity is connected to their ability to concentrate in key organs, and once reaching critical levels, become virulent.  Antibiotics have been used historically to try and control these effects.  While it is debatable whether antibiotic use applied to pond systems is an effective treatment, there is growing recognition that their benefits are outweighed by concerns to eliminate their use.  

Probiotics are being evaluated as an alternative mode of action to antibiotic use.  Research is now showing that the use of select probiotics in aquaculture can suppress Vibrio growth in pond water, reduce their accumulation in the gut track and exoskeleton, and prevent problematic species reaching critical virulent concentrations.  Laboratory testing using proprietary blends of lactic acid bacteria and bacilli show that select strains of these species can broadly suppress Vibrio growth (Figure 1).  Growth experiments confirm the lack of accumulation of Vibrio in both PL (PL10) and juvenile shrimp (0.5-1.5 g).  These results are supported by repeated Vibrio challenge studies.  These studies show that shrimp raised on a diet that includes these probiotics in feed and applied to pond water improves their survivability after exposure to lethal levels (10 days) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Figure 2) in both juvenile shrimp and hatchery produced PL10. (Figure 3).