Assessment of the origin of white spot syndrome virus DNA sequences in farmed Penaeus monodon in Australia

In conclusion, our data, considered together, are consistent with the following hypotheses: an exotic shrimp virus, WSSV, which is of considerable economic importance, has breached Australia's biosecurity; the Australian WSSV strain is mostly closely related to one reported from Asia; a plausible physical route of entry may have been through the importation of WSSV infected shrimp for retail sale.