In this study, six isolates (H1 to H6) were obtained from a shrimp hatchery in Rio Grande do Norte (Natal-Area, Brazil),which had been confronted with disease outbreaks in 2009. The aim was to characterize the virulence of these isolates, both in vitro (virulence factor production) and in vivo (virulence to wards gnotobiotic
brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana, larvae) and to compare these characteristics to those of the most virulent pathogen in the brine shrimp model described to date, Vibrio campbellii LMG 21363.