The Relationship Between Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) in Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strains Isolated from Shellfish and Shrimp of the West Coast of Korea in 2019

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND), previously known as early mortality syndrome (EMS), is an emerging disease in shrimp caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Some V. parahaemolyticus strains are associated with foodborne diseases in humans. To date, studies on the relationship between AHPND and pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus are very limited. In this study, we monitored the thermostable direct hemolysin-related hemolysin (trh) gene and AHPND–related genes, such as Photorhabdus insect-related (pir) genes, in 892 strains of V. parahaemolyticus isolated and identified in 24 areas of the West Coast of Korea from May to October 2019. The trh gene was detected in 9.6% of the isolates from short neck clam samples. However, the pirA and pirB genes related to AHPND were not found in any of the isolates despite using both duplex and nested PCR assays, suggesting that AHPND-related genes were nonexistent in the V. parahaemolyticus strains isolated. This study contributes to the current understanding of the relationship between AHPND and V. parahaemolyticus in Korea, as well as provides data on spatial and seasonal distributions of V. parahaemolyticus.