Evaluation of combined disinfection methods of infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) in seawater using Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei)

The global spread of infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) poses a serious threat to the shrimp aquaculture industry and urgent actions are needed to control its transmission and prevalence. Aquaculture water serves as an important route of IMN transmission, and disinfection of aquaculture water is crucial to ensure the health and stable production of shrimp. In this study, we introduced the purified IMNV into seawater and then subjected the seawater to different disinfection treatments (PMS, PMS + PVP-I and ClO2 + PVP-I) before culturing shrimp. By performing RT-qPCR tests on both the seawater and Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) samples, we evaluated the effectiveness of the different disinfection methods in eradicating IMNV from the seawater. The results showed that peroxymonosulfate (PMS) could effectively reduce the viral load of IMNV in seawater samples. The combined disinfection approach (10 ppm) of PMS disinfection (combined with povidone‑iodine) followed by a standing time of at least 2 days, or 10 ppm chlorine dioxide disinfection (combined with povidone‑iodine) followed by a standing time of at least 4 days, were found to be successful in the efficient disinfection of IMNV. This research provides a method to effectively remove IMNV from marine aquaculture water, thereby contributing to reducing the risk of IMN disease transmission and providing a sound basis for the sustainable and healthy development of the shrimp aquaculture industry. •Disinfecting IMNV in aquaculture seawater to promote sustainable shrimp farming.•PMS can effectively reduce the viral load of IMNV in seawater separately.•The combined disinfection approach PMS (10 ppm) + PVP-I can disinfect IMNV more effectively than a single disinfectant.•Appropriately extending the standing time after disinfection can enhance the inactivation efficacy.