A sequential assessment of WSD risk factors of shrimp farming in Bangladesh: Looking for a sustainable farming system

Abstract White Spot Disease (WSD) caused by White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), is responsible for widespread mortality and economic losses across almost the entire Asian shrimp farming industry. The distribution of disease prevalence is however uneven, and is likely dependent on a range of management, environmental and socio-ecological factors. In this study, 233 farms were surveyed in southwest Bangladesh, the main shrimp farming zone, to produce a dataset from a range of pond types, culture techniques and farming practices. Four categories of data (site/farm characteristics, environmental variables, disease history, and management variables) with associated risk factors were selected following the development of a conceptual framework and a participatory rural appraisal tool. Factors potentially contributing to WSD prevalence in the current shrimp crop were first screened using univariate analysis and subsequently analyzed using a multivariate logistic regression to highlight significant risk factors. Association of the selected factors with WSD prevalence was examined using multivariate stepwise removal. The multivariate analysis revealed that farms operated by a tenant worker (p: 0.03), mixed use of fertilizer (p: 0.009), poor quality water source (p: 0.001), lack of reservoir for water purification (p: