An inter-regional Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) project was countersigned by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Iran Veterinary Organization (IVO) to reduce and manage the risk of Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) in shrimp farms.

The project will provide the services of international consultants as well as technical experts in aquatic animal health management and will cover eleven countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Iran.

The signing ceremony of the project document was held on 7 September 2014, at Iran Veterinary Organization.

EMS - now known as Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) has been outbreaking in a number of Asian and Latin America countries such as China, Malaysia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Iran, and most recently Mexico, as well as other parts of the globe.

The emerging threat of this infectious aquatic disease is not only to the affected countries, but also to the other shrimp producing countries that are not still affected, but will be in danger of being impacted in the near future, if the disease is not controlled.

Requests for technical assistance on EMS/AHPND were received from eleven FAO Members with a particular requirement to bring up-to-date knowledge and experiences about the disease from Asia to Latin America so that the still unaffected countries can undertake preventive and other appropriate risk reduction measures.

This interregional TCP project aims at raising awareness and disseminating up-to-date information about EMS/AHPND and providing a platform to better understand the disease and generate practical control measures. It will also help putting in place long-term preventive and proactive strategies rather than reactive measures as well as a platform for regional and interregional cooperation.