Global seafood provides almost 20% of all animal protein in diets, and aquaculture is, despite weakening trends, the fastest growing food sector worldwide. Recent increases in production have largely been achieved through intensification of existing farming systems, resulting in higher risks of disease outbreaks.

Tilapia lake virus is a newly emerging virus that is associated with significant mortalities in farmed tilapia. With cases reported across Africa, Asia and South America, the virus represents a huge risk to the global tilapia industry, whose 2015 production was valued at USD 9.8 billion. All countries with a tilapia industry must be vigilant and act quickly to investigate cases of mortalities in farms.

Tilapia lake virus is a newly emerging virus that is associated with significant mortalities in farmed tilapia. With cases reported across Africa, Asia and South America, the virus represents a huge risk to the global tilapia industry, whose 2015 production was valued at USD 9.8 billion. All countries with a tilapia industry must be vigilant and act quickly to investigate cases of mortalities in farms.

Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) is an emerging infectious agent that has recently been identified in diseased tilapia on three continents. At the time of writing, scientific publications have reported TiLV in samples collected from Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel and Thailand. While the link between TiLV and disease outbreaks in Israel and Thailand are well documented, further investigations are being undertaken to determine the significance of TiLV in the other countries.

Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) is a recently described virus affecting wild and farmedtilapines. At present, it has been reported on three continents (Asia, Africa andSouth America) and the number of countries where the agent has been detected islikely to increase rapidly as a result of increased awareness, surveillance and avail-ability of diagnostic methods. Any lack of openness regarding the TiLV status of atranslocating live tilapia population destined for aquaculture may inadvertentlycontribute to the spread of the agent.

The CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH) focuses on the interlinked challenges of sustainable aquaculture and small-scale fisheries (SSFs), and enhancing the contribution of fish to poverty reduction, improved human nutrition and environmental management, with a geographical focus on Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

The aquaculture sector in Bangladesh is an important employer and a significant source of foreign exchange. In addition, it contributes significantly to food security due to the role of fish in peoples’ diets, the most important source of protein and micronutrients. However, infectious diseases represent an important barrier to sector development due to economic losses and vulnerability of smallholders.

The sustainable development of aquaculture in Egypt needs the efforts coordinated of different sectors. Disease prevention is the most important aspect for protecting the success in the field of aquaculture. Egyptian farmers, like other farmers in other countries, use different chemicals and antibiotics to treat fish diseases. This approach is dangerous to aquaculture because of the residue in fish body and also for the development of drug resistant bacteria that not only affect fish but also induce harmful effect on humans and may have a deteriorative effect on the environment.

Egyptian fish farms have faced unexplained mortality of tilapia during the summer months in recent years. Epidemiological surveys indicated that 37% of fish farms were affected in 2015 with an average mortality rate of 9.2% and a potential economic impact of around US$ 100 million. Despite a number of researchers and organizations investigating potential causes results so far have been inconclusive. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of various production factors on the incidence of disease outbreaks in Egyptian pond based aquaculture.

Egyptian Government expresses efforts to provide aquaculture industry with high quality fish and to prevent diseases outbreak. The production of larvae and fry is still unpredictable for some species, owing to the lack of control of the microbiota in the rearing systems. Using conventional approaches such as the use of disinfectants and antimicrobial drugs, have had limited success in the prevention or cure of aquatic disease. Also, use of antibiotics does not constitute a sustainable solution, and may result in microflora imbalance for the larvae.