Red Body Disease (Shrimp)

Red body disease is a bacterial septicemia of farmed shrimp, classically associated with Vibrio harveyi and related luminescent and non-luminescent vibrios, though similar presentations follow other Gram-negative infections. Infected shrimp show diffuse reddish or pinkish discoloration of the body and appendages from hemolymph congestion, along with lethargy, loss of appetite, opaque musculature, and sometimes a faint luminescence of freshly moribund animals in the dark. Acute outbreaks can kill 30 to 80 percent of a pond within days, especially when water temperatures exceed 30 °C, dissolved oxygen is low, and organic load is high — conditions typical of late-crop intensive ponds. Stress is the usual trigger: handling, molting, salinity or temperature swings, and prior WSSV or EHP coinfection all raise susceptibility. Diagnosis is by bacterial isolation from hemolymph or hepatopancreas on thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose agar, with antibiotic sensitivity testing to guide any therapy; molecular panels help rule out viral mimics. Prevention dominates management: biosecure pond preparation, screened and treated water, SPF seed, probiotics to suppress environmental Vibrio loads, stable oxygen and salinity, and avoidance of overfeeding. Antibiotics should be used only under veterinary supervision with withdrawal-period compliance, given residue and resistance concerns.