Please help me ID this disease, white leaves

[LenaBeanNZ]

Im going to have a hunt around, see if I can identify what it is.

If it is a virus Im dealing with, the aspirin wont really do much then. Will it?

[dice]

If it is a virus Im dealing with, the aspirin wont really do much then. Will it?

It may (no guarantee):

http://www.plantcell.org/cgi/content/abstract/9/4/547

Whether it is enough for the plant to eradicate the virus
doubtless depends on the specific plant's intrinsic defenses
and what virus it is exactly. I would keep a close eye on other
nearby plants to see if some local bug is spreading it.

[LenaBeanNZ]

It does appear to be spreading. Another 3 plants in the same area are showing early signs. What should I do??

I have plenty of seedlings to replace the infected plants with if, so if completely removing the infected plants is the only option, then the loss is not too great.

[dice]

Here is a page on tomato viruses from Cornell University in the US:
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corne...ses_Tomato.htm

Another one with more close-up pictures:
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/fa...f%20Tomato.asp

There are many, many others less well known. See "Virus
Diseases" in the page below, for example:
http://www.apsnet.org/online/common/names/tomato.asp

Some are spread by aphids, some by thrips, some by sap-sucking
insects like psyllids, and so on. You could try cutting the tops
off and see if it reappears, but pulling the plants and burning
them or disposing of them off-site seems safer to me.

[LenaBeanNZ]

Thanks for the helpful advice and links. After alot of googling and reading, I have (by my own judgement) identified the problem as TSWV. I pulled out all 8 plants that were showing symptoms, and disposed of them in my household waste disposal bin, rather than the compost pile. I am now keeping a careful eye on surrounding cucurbits, incase they are hosting the virus. I hope the newly vacant sites will be ok to replant with healthy young seedings soon.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, Dice, I do appreciate the effort you have made to answer my questions.

[dice]

If it is TSWV, it should not affect the soil, so replanting in
those spots is probably fine. The hard part is discouraging
the thrips that carry it.

Thrip info:

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/entomolog...1/444-281.html

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corne...pottedWilt.htm