Karnataka - Mangalore   

College develops virus detection kit

Special Correspondent

MANGALORE: Fisheries College here has developed a kit to detect "white spot" virus in shrimps.

The kit, developed by Shankar and his team with fund support from Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, has been evaluated extensively in farms and hatcheries with financial support from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research, according to a press release issued here on Thursday. According to research conducted by the college, the "white spot" virus causes a devastating disease in shrimp culture causing an estimated annual loss of Rs. 500 crores in the country.

There is no effective therapy and hence the prevention of entry of the virus into the culture system is the best strategy to manage the viral disease.

To mitigate such conditions of farming, the best option available to farmers is mass screening of shrimps for the virus at various stages. The new test kit does exactly that, the release stated.

The cost of each test is Rs. 50 to Rs. 60 per sample, as against Rs. 400 using imported test kits.

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