Taura syndrome (TS) is one of the more devastating diseases affecting the shrimp farming industry worldwide. It was first described in Ecuador during the summer of 1992. In March 1993, it returned as a major epidemic and was the object of extensive media coverage. Retrospective studies have suggested a case of Taura syndrome might have occurred on a shrimp farm in Colombia as early as 1990 and the virus was already present in Ecuador in mid-1991. Between 1992 and 1997, the disease spread to all major regions of the Americas where whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is cultured. The economic impact of TS in the Americas during that period might have exceeded US$2 billion by some estimates.