While some diseases such as white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and Taura syndrome virus (TSV) often have little affect on mud crabs, they are known to be effective carriers and potentially viral reservoirs of these diseases. While the presence of WSSR in mud crabs can be assessed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, it has only rarely been reported that the virus can cause mortalities in them. In fact, the farming of mud crab in areas where shrimp farming has been devastated by WSSV has been recommended as an alternative farming opportunity.
A summary of diseases identified to date in mud crabs is listed in Table 11.1.