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Antibiotic Application and Emergence of Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) in Global Catfish Aquaculture

  • Food, Health, and the Environment (KE Nachman, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Catfish is one of the most cultivated species worldwide. Antibiotics are usually used in catfish farming as therapeutic and prophylactic agents. In the USA, only oxytetracycline, a combination of sulfadimethoxine and ormetoprim, and florfenicol are approved by the Food Drug Administration for specific fish species (e.g., catfish and salmonids) and their specific diseases. Misuse of antibiotics as prophylactic agents in disease prevention, however, is common and contributes in the development of antibiotic resistance. Various studies had reported on antibiotic residues and/or resistance in farmed species, feral fish, water column, sediments, and, in a lesser content, among farm workers. Ninety percent of the world aquaculture production is carried out in developing countries, which lack regulations and enforcement on the use of antibiotics. Hence, efforts are needed to promote the development and enforcement of such a regulatory structure. Alternatives to antibiotics such as antibacterial vaccines, bacteriophages and their lysins, and probiotics have been applied to curtail the increasing emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria due to the imprudent application of antibiotics in aquaculture.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the following support: University Sains Malaysia for providing Graduate Assistant Fellowship to Li-Oon Chuah and USM Global Fellowship to Abatcha Mustapha Goni.

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  1. Food Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

    Li-Oon Chuah, M. E. Effarizah, Abatcha Mustapha Goni & Gulam Rusul

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  1. Li-Oon Chuah
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  2. M. E. Effarizah
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Li-Oon Chuah, M. E. Effarizah, Abatcha Mustapha Goni, and Gulam Rusul declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Chuah, LO., Effarizah, M.E., Goni, A.M. et al. Antibiotic Application and Emergence of Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) in Global Catfish Aquaculture. Curr Envir Health Rpt 3, 118–127 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-016-0091-2

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