A highly contagious disease is spreading among farmed and wild tilapia, one of the world’s most important fish for human consumption, the United Nations warns, adding that though not a human health risk, Tilapia Lake Virus has large potential impact on global food security and nutrition. The outbreak should be treated with concern and countries importing tilapias should take appropriate risk-management measures—intensifying diagnostics testing, enforcing health certificates, deploying quarantine measures and developing contingency plans—according to a Special Alert released on May 26 by the Global Information and Early Warnings System (GIEWS) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) has now been confirmed in five countries on three continents: Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel, and Thailand.

UN sounds alarm on lethal tilapia virus. (2017, June 2). Manila Times, p. B5.