Diagnostic performance of a Rapid Test Kit for white spot syndrome virus (WSSV)

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a highly infectious and influential pathogen that causes mass mortality. Particularly, this virus has had the most severe impact on global shrimp culture over the past 30 years. There are currently no vaccines or treatments for WSSV, and therefore accurate diagnosis strategies are critical for the management of shrimp farms. In this study, a commercial WSSV lateral flow immunoassay (WSSV RP Rapid Test Kit, Innocreate Bioscience Co., Ltd., Taiwan) can be used to assess the level of WSSV infection in shrimp farms was tested. Sensitivity analyses indicated that 0.4 ng of a recombinant target protein could be reliably detected after 15 min. Additionally, this kit did not return false-positive reactions when testing samples infected with PirAB^VP-producing strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (the causative agent of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease, AHPND), haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV), and Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP). Furthermore, the accuracy and sensitivity of our proposed procedure were assessed using the OIE TaqMan real-time PCR method. Upon analyzing 231 samples, our WSSV immunoassay achieved a sensitivity and specificity of 99.21% and 100%, respectively. Collectively, our findings demonstrated the convenience, stability, sensitivity, and specificity of the WSSV RP Rapid Test Kit, and therefore this kit can be widely used in aquaculture farms to assist disease management.