An explosive epidemic disease of shrimp had occurred in China and the south Pacific coast. The causative agent is a new baculovirus called hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis baculovirus (HHNBV) in China, and the pathogen is very much similar to Japanese panaeid rod-shaped DNA virus (PRDV) which caused mass mortality of shrimp. In order to distinguish both HHNBV and PRDV at molecular level, we have sequenced the PCR-targeted DNA fragment of HHNBV. One pair of PCR primers were prepared based on the PRDV DNA. The sequence of the PCR-targeted DNA of HHNBV is 975bp in length, and shares 99.7% homology with the PRDV. The sequence of PCR-targeted DNA of HHNBV-XIA differs from PRDV DNA in deleting three nucleotides (CAT) at 510～512 site. These characteristics of the sequence classified HHNBV and PRDV as strains of different genotypes.
