A longitudinal study of risk factors associated with white spot disease occurrence in marine shrimp farming in Rayong, Thailand

Sompit Yaemkasem; Visanu Boonyawiwat; Manakorn Sukmak; Sukanya Thongratsakul; Chaithep Poolkhet

doi:10.7717/peerj.13182

A longitudinal study of risk factors associated with white spot disease occurrence in marine shrimp farming in Rayong, Thailand

PeerJ. 2022 Mar 25:10:e13182. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13182. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Sompit Yaemkasem^{1

2

3}, Visanu Boonyawiwat⁴, Manakorn Sukmak⁴, Sukanya Thongratsakul², Chaithep Poolkhet²

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Program of Animal Health and Biomedical Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
² Section of Epidemiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
³ Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Rayong Coastal Aquaculture Research and Development Center, Rayong, Thailand.
⁴ Section of Aquatic Animal Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

Abstract

Background: A longitudinal study was conducted to analyze farm characteristics, farm practices, and biosecurity measures that influenced the occurrence of white spot disease (WSD) in shrimp farming in Rayong, Thailand.

Methods: Data were collected using a structured interview schedule administered between October 2017 and September 2019. A generalized estimating equations (GEE) model was used to identify risk factors. From the 270 responses, 86 possible risk factors were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results: We found that 17 possible risk factors were statistically significant with an alpha level of 1% and associated with WSD status. In the final model, multivariate analysis found that two independent variables were statistically significant. First, the absence of inclement weather during ponding was a statistically significant factor associated with WSD occurrence and it prevented WSD occurrence as the odds ratio (OR) was <1 (OR = 0.196, P = 1.3 × 10^-5). Second, the separation of ponds into three specific types (cultured, water treatment, and pond for water reservoir) was significantly associated with WSD occurrence. Likewise, the presence of this ponding system was a protective factor against WSD (OR = 0.0828, P = 0.001).

Conclusions: The results of this study offer a reference for farmers and relevant authorities when addressing WSD occurrence in shrimp farming. In addition, our results can help relevant authorities in controlling WSD in other endemic areas.

Keywords: Longitudinal study; Risk factors; Thailand; White spot disease.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Agriculture
Animals
Aquaculture / methods
Longitudinal Studies
Penaeidae*
Risk Factors
Thailand / epidemiology

Grants and funding

This study was financially supported by the Kasetsart Veterinary Development Fund of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Thailand (code: 62.02) and Thailand’s Department of Fisheries (Code: 63-3-0106-63049). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.