Context: The occurrence of tilapia parvovirus (TiPV) affecting farm-bred tilapia causing a huge mortality rate has been reported for the first time in India at ponds in Walajah in Ranipet district of Tamil Nadu.

• The virus caused mortality rates ranging from 30% to 50% in farms and 100% in laboratory settings.

About Tilapia parvovirus (TiPV)

• It is a small, nonenveloped, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) virus.

• It was first reported in China in 2019 and Thailand in 2021. India is the third country to report the occurrence of TiPV.

• This virus was localized in the gills, heart, brain, liver, pancreas, spleen, intestine, kidney, eyes, and muscles of tilapia.

Key facts about Tilapia fish

• Tilapia is a common name used for certain species of fishes belonging to the family Cich lidae (order Perciformes).

• These are freshwater species native to Africa.

• It is easily raised and harvested food fish.

• Their commercial advantages include resistance to disease, and a diet of readily abundant algae and zooplankton.

• Tilapia’ has emerged to be one of the most productive and internationally traded   food   fish   in   the   world.

Tilapia Farming in India

• It is done in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and is sold in domestic markets as whole fish.

• In 2022, tilapia production was estimated at 70,000 tonnes, of which 30,000 tonnes come from aquaculture.

• The culture of tilapia has become commercially popular in many parts of the world and the  fishery experts have dubbed the tilapia as “aquatic chicken” due to its quick growth and low maintenance cultivation.

• Mozambique tilapia was introduced to Indian fresh water bodies in the 1950s and it is called Jilabi in Tamil.

• Capable of surviving in low-oxygen levels in water, the fish has turned invasive across the country.

• Nile tilapia introduced in the 1970s is a little bigger and is cultured on a large-scale.

• In India, tilapia farming is being carried out in different parts of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

• Although tilapia are robust and adapted to intensive farming conditions and environmental changes, disease outbreaks, particularly those with viral origins, continue to threaten tilapia production.