It occurs, most typically, in juvenile shrimp, but sometimes manifests itself in later adult stages. Symptoms include shell spotting and occasionally a reddish discoloration. The disease was identified in shrimp in Cameron County, Texas in 1995. Although the method by which the disease is communicated in wild populations is unclear, managers of hatcheries consider wild stock to be a likely form of introduction of the White Spot Disease. The disease is thought to spread by means of contaminated water, decomposing fecal matter or tissue, cannibalism and fluid from infected females.
Direct transmission can occur between unrelated crustacean species.
Humans may also facilitate transmission of the disease by global transportation of viable viruses in infected frozen imported shrimp. Shrimp which survive the infection are suspected to be life-long carriers of White Spot Disease. As a result of the spread of the White Spot Disease, tests have shown significant damage done to important Gulf and American Pacific culture species.