RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE OUTBREAKS IN LITOPENAEUS VANNAMEI SHRIMP FARMS

摘要

Risk factors are population characteristics or factors that are statistically associated to an increase in the risk of disease occurrence (Thrusfield, 1995). Several risk factors for white spot disease (WSD) outbreaks in cultured shrimp have been suggested, but few investigations using epidemiologic analysis tools at farm level have been done to our knowledge. Nevertheless, studies of shrimp risk factors for disease occurrence on Asian farms (Leung et al., 2000) and for white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection in a Vietnamese rice-shrimp farming system (Corsin et al., 2001) have been reported. This paper presents risk factors for occurrence and severity of disease outbreaks of Litopenaeus vannamei identified through a retrospective cohort study based on the management and production data of 715 production cycles from Ecuadorian shrimp farms.