. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/MEX/139
20 April 1999
(99-1613)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original: Spanish
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   MEXICO
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:   Ministry of the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries
3. Products covered (provide tariff item num ber(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO;  ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable).
Regions or countries likely to be affect ed, to the extent relevant or practicable:
Crustaceans
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:   Emergency Mexican Official Standard
NOM-EM-001-PESC-1999, establishing requirements and measures for the prevention and
control of the introduction and spread of the viral diseases White Spot Baculo Virus (WSBV)and Yellow Head Virus (YHV) (9 pages)
5. Description of content:   The purpose of this Emergency Mexican Official Standard is to
establish the requirements and measures to prevent and control the introduction and spread ofthe viral diseases white spot baculo virus (WSBV) and yellow head virus (YHV) in the
national territory.
6. Objective and rationale:  [  ] food safety    [ X ] animal health    [  ] plant protection
[  ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease  [  ]  protect territory from other
damage from pests
7. Nature of the urgent problem(s):   The diseases known as white spot baculo virus (WSBV)
and yellow head virus (YHV) mainly affect the species of penaeid shrimp, and produce
generalized lesions in various organs of the infected specimens causing massive mortality,
with rates of up to 100% mortality of cultivated shrimp populations, without any available
treatment for prevention and control to this date.
Records show that these diseases affect other crustacean species and that the
dispersion media of the viruses causing them are varied, as the carriers are live and dead
shellfish, their products or by-products, as well as Artemia spp  which is used as food in the
larval stages of shrimp and other species of aquatic organism.
There is also evidence that the causal agents of these diseases are also spread through
the water used in shrimp farming or the waste water and solid waste produced by shellfish
processing.
White Spot Baculo Virus (WSBV) was detected in shrimp farms in the United States
and recently Central America, while Yellow Head Virus (YHV) has affected shrimp farmed
in countries of Asia and the United States, causing serious economic losses.G/SPS/N/MEX/139
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7. Nature of the urgent problem(s):  (cont'd)
It has been shown that in frozen shrimp the viral particles survive for a long time,
even years,  and recover  their  infectious characteristics when returned to propitious conditions.
The movement of live or dead shellfish and their products or by-products whether for
purposes of farming, marketing, processing, investigation or consumption, represents a high
risk of spreading the causal agents of these diseases in the national territory, which could
cause losses for aqua culture and natural crustacean populations, thus representing a potential
environmental danger.
8. An international standa rd, guideline or recommendati on does not exist [ X ].
If an international standard , guideline or recommendation exists, give its appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:   Diario oficial de la
Federación (Official Journal) 19 March 1999 (Spanish)
10. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):   The day following its
publication in the Official Journal (20 March 1999), valid for six months from publication
11. Texts available from/and agency or auth ority designated to handle comments:
[   ] National notification authority,  [ X ] National enquiry point, or address, fax
number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: