Evaluation of a reliable non-invasive molecular test for the diagnosis of the causative agent of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease of shrimp

•A PCR assay based on shrimp fecal samples was described as a non-invasive diagnosis method for acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease.•Our results showed that the presence of AHPND bacteria could be detected both in fecal DNA samples and in the enriched bacterial broth.•We also confirmed that exposure to AHPND contaminated feces can result in the AHPND infection of healthy shrimp.