Antibiotics in aquaculture: An overview

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SouthAsianJExpBiol;1(3):xxx‐xxx;2011
ISSN:2230‐9799    Vol.1,Issue3,Pagexxx‐xxxhttp://www.sajeb.org

REGULARARTICLE

Antibioticsinaquaculture:Anoverview

R.Vignesha*,B.S.Karthikeyanb,N.PeriyasamyaandK.Devanathana

aCentreforAdvancedStudyinMarineBiology,FacultyofMarineSciences,AnnamalaiUniversity,Parangipettai
608502,Tamilnadu,India
bDepartmentofBioinformatics,SchoolofLifeSciences,BharathidasanUniversity,Tiruchirapalli620024,Tamilnadu,
India
ARTICLEINFO

ArticleHistory:
Received:24‐05‐2011
Revised:04‐06‐2011
Accepted:08‐06‐2011

*CorrespondingAuthor:
Email:vignesh144@gmail.com

Keywords:Antibiotics,Pollutants,
Aquaculture,Impacts,Ecosystems,
HumanHealth

ABSTRACT

Thepresenceofantibioticcompoundsinterrestrialandaquaticenvironment
isofhigherinterestworldwideduetotheemergenceasdangerouspollut‐
antsoftheenvironmentandtothehumanhealth.Fishandshrimpaquacul‐
tureisrecognizedasanimportantlivelihood,whichhasgoodeconomicre‐
turns.Thusvastarraysofantibioticsareappliedtotheaquacultureinabe‐
liefthatitwillenhancetheproductionandalsoinahopethatitwillimprove
thesocioeconomicprofileindevelopingcountries.Butthebaneofantibiot‐
icstothemarineandotheraquaticecosystemsisnotconsideredtoalarger
extent.Theaccessibilityofthegreatnumberofantibiotics,alreadystandard
forhumanuse,makesthemaprecioussourcefortreatmentofother,than
infectious,diseasesinhumansandanimals.Thisreviewpaperhighlightsthe
usageofantibioticsandtheirimpactsinaquacultureenvironment.
1.Introduction
Inmanycountriesaquacultureisamajorthrust
areawhichplaysvitalroleinimprovingcommunity
progress,foodsecurity,povertymitigation,em‐
ploymentandothereconomicactivities.World‐
wideproductionoffarmedaquaticanimalsand
plantshastobereachedtoseveralbillionsaccord‐
ingtotheFoodandAgriculturalOrganization
(FAO).Ashumanpopulationgrows,thedemand
andneedforfishwillgrowflankingit(FAO,2007).
Despitedevelopmentsinfishingtechnology,the
demandforfishwillalmostcertainlyexceedsus‐
tainablelevels.Aquacultureispoisedtofillthegap
betweenfishneedsandsustainablefishingand
needtobescalabletomeetfuturedemands(FAO,
2007).
India,acountrywithanareaof3.3millionsqkm
andapopulationofabout1.21billionpeopleis
artisticwithrichfreshwater,brackishwaterand
marineresources.Thecountryproducesabout5
millionmtoffishinwhichtotalaquaculturepro‐
ductionisabout1.6millionmt(FAO,2007).Aqua‐
cultureproductionhasincreasedthreetimesdur‐
ingthelasttenyears.Althoughaquaculturehas
madeverygoodprogressinthelastfivedecades,it
isstillaverysmallsub‐sectorofagriculture.Consid‐
eringthecountry’svastprospectiveforaquacul‐
ture(bothfreshwaterandcoastal),therecent
achievementsbyR&Donvariousaspectsofaqua‐
culture,inadditionwiththepublicandprivatesec‐
torsprospectaquaculturewithanoptimisticeco‐
nomicactivity.

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Vigneshetal.,SouthAsianJExpBiol;1(3):xxx‐xxx;2011
Duringthelasttwo‐threedecades,therewasmas‐
sivegrowthoffishandshrimpculturingwhichobvi‐
ouslyimprovedcountry’sexportvalueandalsohas
unfortunatelyresultedinharmfulenvironmental
impacts.Theaccomplishmentinthemassproduc‐
tionofhatcherybredshrimpsandfishesalsolead
theroadtowardsinventionofadvancedculture
techniquestomeetitsdemand.Withthehelpof
advancedculturetechniquesevenwithlowinvest‐
menthighyieldwasobtained.Thisgrowthinvited
multinationalcompaniestoinitializebusinessand
theyestablishedtheircompaniesincoastaland
agriculturallandsinthe1990s.Themajoraquacul‐
tureshrimpproducingregionsandtheprogressin
aquacultureproductionofshrimpsinAsiafrom
2003‐2011isshowninTable1andTable2.Asa
sourceoflivelihoodcapturefisheriesandaquacul‐
tureemployed43.5millionpeoplein2006.Many
countriesareinvestingheavilyintheaquaculture
sectorexpectingthefuturedemandforhighquality
seafoodwillbemetbyfarmedfish(FAO2009).
Aquacultureiswidelyusedasanimportantweapon
intheglobalfightagainstmalnutritionandpoverty,
particularlywithindevelopingcountrieswhereover
93%ofglobalproductioniscurrentlyproduced,pro‐
vidinginmostinstancesanaffordableandmuch
neededsourceofhighqualityanimalprotein,lipids
andotheressentialnutrients.(Alberttaconetal.,
2010).
2.AntibioticsandAquaculture
Alongwiththedevelopmentofaquaculture,dis‐
easescausedbyvariousetiologicalagentsfollowed
bymortalityofculturedstockhavebecomelimiting
factorsinproduction.Hence,thefarmersandthe
hatcheryoperatorshaveresortedtotheuseof
variousremedialmeasures,includinguseofantim‐
icrobialsanddrugsforcontrollingthedisease.The
frequencyofutilizingtheseantibioticsandother
chemicalsismoreinhatcheriesandscientificfarms
thanintraditionalfarms.
Amongthedrugsemployedinagriculture,antibiot‐
icsarethemostwidelyusedforanimalhealthand
management(Levey,1992).Accordancewitha
2008amendmenttotheAnimalDrugUserFeeAct,
theU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)re‐
leasedanannualamountofantimicrobialdrugs
soldanddistributedforuseinfoodanimals.The
grandtotalfor2009is13.1millionkilogramsor
28.8millionpounds(USFDA,2008).Thetotal
amountofveterinaryantibioticsusedintherapeu‐
ticpurposesandasfeedingadditiveswereapproxi‐
mately1000tonsand500tonsin2005(KFDA,
2005).Theuseofantimicrobialsinaquacultureba‐
sicallystartedwiththeworkofGutsell(1946)who
recognizedtheprospectiveuseofantibiotics
(sulphanamidesforcombatingfurunculosis).Ac‐
cordingtoKummerer(2009a)antibioticsarenatu‐
rallyoccurringmanmadechemicalsthatcanbe
dividedintodifferentclassessuchasβ
‐lactams,
quinolonestetracyclines,macrolidsandsulfona‐
mides.Morenumberofantibioticslikechloram‐
phenicol,oxyteteracycline,kanamycin,nifurprazine,
Country200320042005200620072008200920102011
South‐
eastAsia
857,229993,5651,150,7141,333,6691,353,5541,382,6931,347,6981,362,4161,444,896
China789,373935,9441,064,9491,080,4791,265,6361,268,0741,252,7411,365,0691,512,877
India/
Bangla‐
desh
169,743191,064206,222209,047171,265291,890289,750331,250360,000
Americas296,461326,266379,363446,471449,099470,717495,033501,917523,550
Africa/
Mideast
25,25725,50026,77127,79026,64128,41028,25031,50038,500
Others7,7037,5859,96811,7519,50114,00015,00016,00016,000
Table1:Shrimpaquacultureproductionbymajorproducingregions(mt).
Sources:2003‐2007,FAO(2009);2008‐2011,GOALestimate(Jory,2010).
Country200320042005200620072008200920102011
China789,373935,9441,064,9491,242,3851,265,6361,268,0741,252,7411,365,0691,512,877
Thailand330,725360,292401,251500,800501,200473,622455,000420,000420,000
Vietnam231,717275,569327,200349,000376,700391,000418,148429,616475,946
Indonesia191,148238,567279,539339,803330,155315,050250,000275,000302,000
India113,240133,020143,170144,347107,665126,042106,000125,000135,000
Bangladesh56,50358,04463,05264,70063,600165,848183,750206,250225,000
Table2:ShrimpaquacultureproductioninAsia(mt).
Sources:2003‐2007,FAO(2009);2008‐2011,GOALestimate(Jory,2010).

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Vigneshetal.,SouthAsianJExpBiol;1(3):xxx‐xxx;2011
oxolinicacid,flumequin,ciproflaxinandothers
wereintroduced(AustinandAustin,1993).Later
theseantibioticswerefurtherclassifiedasantibac‐
terials,antivirals,antifungal,antiprotozoan,anti‐
metazoanpreparations,probiotics,immunostimu‐
lants,vaccines,bactecins,hormones,growthstimu‐
lants,anestheticsandbioremediatorsforbothbio‐
augmentorsandbiostimulators.
3.ImpactsofAntibiotics
Antibioticsaredesignedtoinhibitthegrowthand
tokillpathogenicbacteria.Theygenerallyactin
oneofthethreeways:Bydisruptingcellmem‐
branes,bydisruptingproteinorDNAsynthesisor
byinhibitingenzymeactivity.Compoundswithan‐
tibioticactivityareselectedforuseinhumanand
veterinarymedicinebecauseoftheirselectivetox‐
icitytocellmembranes,ribosomalactivityoren‐
zymeactivityinprokaryoticcells.Despitetheirlow
toxicity,therearesignificantenvironmentalcon‐
cernswithwidespreaduseofantibiotics.Manyan‐
tibioticsarestablechemicalcompoundsthatare
notbrokendowninthebody,butremainactive
longafterbeingexcreted.Atpresent,antibiotics
makeaconsiderablecontributiontothegrowing
problemofactivemedicalsubstancescirculatingin
theenvironment.Thecommonpracticesthatoccur
inthefishindustry,particularlyindevelopingcoun‐
tries,wherelargeamountsofantibioticsareused
toavoidinfection.(Cabelloetal.,2006).
Thecontinuousandheavyuseofantibioticsinthe
aquacultureenvironmentscouldleadtovarious
hazardswithconcerntothehealthofaquaticor‐
ganismsaswellastothehumansonconsumption
offishesandshrimps.Theantibioticsusedinaqua‐
culture,eitherforprophylacticorremedialpur‐
posesoftenmountupinthetissueofaquaticani‐
mals.Presenceofanti‐microbialdrugresiduesin
theedibletissuescancauseallergies,toxiceffects,
changesintheintestinalmicrobialfaunaandacqui‐
sitionofdrug‐resistance.Remainsofchlorampheni‐
colinfoodconsumedbyhumanscanevenresultin
aplasticanemia,whichleadstoverybrutalbone
marrowdiseases.Nitrofuranantibioticsareknown
tocausecancerandsomanyotherdiseases.
Antibioticscanevenbeconsideredasamajorfac‐
torthatisresponsibleforaffectingthemicrobial
communityintheenvironment.Butthestudieson
theantibioticsanditseffectsonaquaticfarmsare
lessandthereasonforthisobservablefactisvery
wellexplainedbyKummerrer(2009b),whostated
thattheconcentrationofantibioticswereinmono‐
gramsandlowermicrogramsperlitersrangeand
thislowerconcentrationmakesitdifficulttostudy
theeffects.Alsothemicrobesarepresentinmuch
lowerdensitieswhichmakefurthercomplications
indeterminingthemicrobialcommunitystructure.
Antibioticsactasanecologicalbarrierintheenvi‐
ronmentthatcouldpotentiallyaffectmicrobial
communities.TheeffectsincludePhylogenetic
structurealteration,resistanceexpansionandeco‐
logicalfunctiondisturbanceinthemicroecosystem
(ChanDing,2010).
Antibioticswhichhaveanaffinityforabsorbing
ontoaparticulatematter,especiallyinthemarine
environmentmaypersistandremainactivefor
muchlongerintheenvironment(Halling‐Sorenson
etal.,1998).Anoxicsedimentsarecommoninthe
aquaticenvironmentandmostantibioticcom‐
poundspersistmuchlongerintheseanoxiccondi‐
tions.Hektoenetal.(1995)showedthatantibiotics
buriedinsedimentsasshallowas1‐7cmhavehalf
livesofmorethan300days.Thisemphasizesthat
theantibioticscanbuildupintheaquaticenviron‐
menttodangerouslevelsthatmayeffectbenthic
communitiesandcontinueupthroughthefood
chain.
Researchhasprovedthatmanychemicalsmanu‐
facturedandusedtodayentertheenvironment,
disperseandpersistintheenvironmentformuch
longeroriginallyexpected(Kolpin,2002).Theusage
ofantibioticsinthefishandshrimpaquaculture
hasbecomeamajorproblemwhichseepages
throughpondbottomanddischargesaswastesand
effluentsmixingintorunoffwaterandcovering
coastalmangrovesdestroyingimportantnatural
habitatsforshrimps,fishesandtohumans
(Jatindraetal.,2009).Thestudiesoffishfarms
haveshownthatthemajorityofantibioticsadded
infeedarenotassimilatedbyfishbutgointothe
environments(Weston,1996).LeandMunekage
(2004)alsoreportedthatantibioticsresiduesmay
causeharmfuleffectonecosystems.Thustheaccu‐
mulationoftheseantibioticsinsedimentswilldefi‐
nitelyalterthenaturalfunctionsthatmighttake
placeintheenvironment.Itisforthisreason,that
mostoftheimportingcountrieshavecompletely
bannedtheuseofcertainantibiotics.Thelistof
bannedantibioticsbymarineproductsexportde‐
velopmentauthorityofIndia(MPEDA)isgivenin
Table3.
Inhatcheries,itisthecommonpracticetouseanti‐
bioticsasaprophylactic/therapeutic,measurees‐

4
Vigneshetal.,SouthAsianJExpBiol;1(3):xxx‐xxx;2011
peciallywhenlarvaldevelopmentishindered.This
isalsomeanttotreatthemicrobialinfectionsin
storedwaterinhatcherytanks,whilelarvaland
postlarvaldevelopmentcontinues.Thepractice
canbereplacedbyusingprobiotics(helpfulmi‐
crobes).Enrichmentoflivelarvalfeedswithantibi‐
oticstoenhancequality(bio‐encapsulation)can
alsoleadtoilleffectsofantibioticsuse.Allthese
measureswillleaveantibioticresidueinthecul‐
turedstock.Thustheapplicationofantibioticsand
otherchemicalsintheaquaculturefarmsto
achievehighproductioncauseddiseaseproblems
andcoastalenvironmentalpollution.
4.Antibioticresistance
Theaquaticenvironmenthasmoredirectandinti‐
matecontactwithhumanlifeduetothewidecon‐
sumptionoffishandshrimps.Thusitmaytransfer
antibioticresistanceposingthreattopublichealth
andecosystems.Theantibioticsusedareoftennon
‐biodegradableandremainintheaquacultureenvi‐
ronmentforlongperiodsoftime.Thisencourages
thegrowthofbacteria,whichcansurviveinthe
presenceoftheseantibiotics,acquiringaresistance
thatispassedontoconsequentgenerations.The
dangeris,thesebacteriacanbetransferredtohu‐
manandanimalpathogens,leadingtoincreased
infectiousdiseaseinfish,animalsandhumans
alike.
Antibioticusagehasreceivedalotattentioninthe
mediaforthepastfewyearsduetotheincreasing
numberofdiseasesbecomingresistanttotradi‐
tionaltreatments.Thecontinuousandindiscrimi‐
nateusageofantibioticsintheaquaculturefarms
hasledveryseriousconsequences.Itpavedwayfor
theoutbreakofmutagenic,multidrugresistantmi‐
crobialstrainswhichcancauseinfectiousdiseases.
Marinefishfarmsaresurroundedbyawiderange
ofmarineecosystemlikefishing,andothermarine
foodprocessingunits.Someofthewildfishesfeed
fromleftoverfoodpelletswhicharemedicated
withantibioticsandobviouslyitpassestothe
fishesandaresearchhasconfirmedthatwildfishes
capturearoundaquacultureareasingestthepel‐
lets.Residuesoftetracyclineandquinoloneswere
reportedinwildfishescapturedintheseaquacul‐
tureareas(Tendenciaetal.,2001).Apartfrom
antibioticresistance,theseantibioticsgetaccumu‐
latedinthetissuesofthefishesandshrimps.
Theevolutionofresistanceisaninevitableconse‐
quenceofantibioticuse(Stokes,2001)andthis
consequenceisperhapsthemostimportantimpli‐
cationofantibioticuseinaquacultureforavariety
ofreason(Salyersetal.,2002).TheuseofOxytet‐
racycline(OTC)inaquaculturehasbeenshownto
causeaseasonalshiftinbacterialspeciestowards
enterobacteriaceaeandisassociatedwithantibi‐
oticresistance(Guardabaasietal.,1999;Wollen‐
bergeretal.,2000)samplestakenfromgillsand
intestinesofwildandcommercialfishescaptured
nearfishfarmingactivitieshaveshownhighfre‐
quenciesofmultipleantibioticresistance(Rhodes
etal2000,Guardabassietal.,1999).Alsotheresis‐
tantstrainsofbacteriarequireevenhigherlevelsof
dosingtotreatdiseasesleadingtomoreantibiotic
reachingthenaturalenvironment(Bruunetal.,
2003).
Thescientificevidenceisthatuseofantibioticsin
foodproducinganimalscanleadtoresistancein
intestinalbacteriaandthisresistancecanthenbe
transmittedtothegeneralpopulationcausing
treatment‐resistantillness.Infishfarmingaquacul‐
turemariculturethewidespreaduseofantibiotics
fortreatingbacterialdiseaseshasbeenassociated
withthedevelopmentofantibioticsresistancein
Aeromonashydrophila,A.salomonicida,Edward
siellatarda,E.icttaluri,Vibrioanguillarum,
V.salmonicida,Pasteurellapiscida(Hernandezser‐
vanop,2005).
Thegeneralpremiseofmanystudiesexamining
resistanceisthatasmoreantibioticisintroduced
intotheenvironmentthegreaterwillbetheinci‐
denceofantibioticresistanceinthebacterialflora
(Smithetal.,1994a;Halling‐sorensonetal.,
1998).Whenantibioticsarepresent,resistant
strainshaveanadvantageovernon‐ resistant
strainsandpredominateinthepopulation.Antibi‐
oticresistancebacteriaandtheirresistancegenes
areoftendetectedinaquaticecosystems(Esiobuet
1 Chloramphenicol 11 Dimetridazole
2 Nitrofurans 12 Metronidazole
3 Neomycin 13 Onidazole
4 NalidixicAcid 14 Ipronidazole
5 Sulphamethoxazole 15 Nitroimidazoles
6 Aristolochia 16 Clenbuterol
7 Chlorprpmazine 17 Diethylstilbestrol
8 Colchicine 18 Sulfonamide
9 Apsone 19 Floroquinolones
10 Chloroform 20 Glycopeptides
Table3:ListofAntibioticsandPharmacologicallyActive
SubstancesBannedForUseinIndianAquaculture.
Source:Marineproductexportdevelopmentauthority
(MPEDA,2001).

5
Vigneshetal.,SouthAsianJExpBiol;1(3):xxx‐xxx;2011
al.,2002;Schwartzetal.,2003;Biyelaetal.,2004).
Tendenciaanddelapena(2001)foundthatantibi‐
oticresistancewasassociatedwithhistoricaland
currentuseofantimicrobialswhichwasfoundto
behighinshrimppondsusingoxolinicacidinfeed.
Anotherstudyshowedthatthereisanincreasein
tetracyclineresistancegenesabundance,
(comparedto16srRNAgenes)atlowleveloxytet‐
racyclineexposureinaquaticsystems(Knappetal.,
2008).Phylogeneticanalysisofseveralgroupsof
antibioticresistancegeneshassuggestedthatge‐
neticmaterialforpresent‐dayantibioticresistance
hashadalonghistoryofselectionanddiversifica‐
tionwellbeforethecurrent‘antibioticera’(Aminov
andMackie,2007).
Ithasbeenextensivelyshownthatexcessiveand
prophylacticuseofantibioticsinanimalshasa
negativeinfluenceonantibiotictherapyofanimal
andhumanbacterialinfectionsbecause1)zoonotic
antibioticresistantbacteriaareabletoinfecthu‐
manbeings;and2)animalandhumanpathogens
cansharegeneticdeterminantsforantibioticresis‐
tanceastheresultofhorizontalexchangeofge‐
neticinformation(HarrisonandLederberg1998;
Teuber2001;Cabello,2003;Anguloetal.,2004;
Cabello2004;Molbak,2004;Wassenaar,2005).
Becauseoftheirtoxicitytomicroorganisms,antibi‐
oticsmayalsoaffectthecompositionofthephyto‐
planktoncommunity,thezooplanktoncommunity
andeventhediversityofpopulationsoflargerani‐
mals.Inthismanner,potentialalterationsofthe
diversityofthemarinemicrobiotaproducedby
antibioticsmayalterthehomeostasisofthemarine
environmentandaffectcomplexformsoflifein‐
cludingfish,shellfish,marinemammals,andhuman
beings.Forallthesereasons,extremeantibiotic
useinaquacultureshouldbeofhighconcerntothe
aquacultureindustryanditsregulators,topublic
officialsdealingwithhumanandveterinaryhealth
andwiththesafeguardingoftheenvironment,and
tonon‐governmentalorganizationsdealingwith
theseissues.
Itisnowgenerallyrenownedthatthenaturalenvi‐
ronmentharboursanenormousdiversityofantibi‐
oticresistancegenesandsomesoilbacteriamay
evensurviveonantibioticsusingthemastheirsole
sourceofcarbon(D’Costaetal.,2006;2007;
Wright,2007;Martínez,2008;Dantasetal.,2008).
Theprincipalpollutanttransformationprocesses,
microbialdegradationorbiotransformationmaybe
themostefficientwayforremovalofchemicalpol‐
lutantsandtheirtoxicityfromtheenvironments
(Srinivasanetal2001).Antibioticshavenotalways
beenusedinaresponsiblemannerinaquaculture
and,inanumberofreportedsituations;controlof
theuseofantibioticshasnotprovidedaproper
assuranceofthepreventionofriskstohumans.
FAO,theWorldHealthOrganization(WHO),the
InternationalOfficeofEpizootics(OIE)andanum‐
berofnationalgovernmentshavealreadyraised
theissueofirresponsibleuseofantibioticsinall
productionsectors,withparticularconcernforthe
potentialriskstopublichealth.Manygovernments
aroundtheworldhaveintroduced,changedor
tightenednationalregulationsontheuseofantibi‐
otics,ingeneralandwithintheaquaculturesector.
5.PossibleActions
Naturalbiodegradationofantibioticsintheenvi‐
ronmentmaynotbeanadequateoptionfortheir
eradication.Someoftheseproducts,suchasqui‐
nolones,takeseveralmonthstodegrade.Theup‐
shotisthatduringthattime,antimicrobialsare
drawnintheselectionforresistanceanditsgenetic
transfertootherbacteriaandappearanceofviru‐
lencefactors.Drugresistanceisamultifacetedcon‐
cernthathaslittlechancetoimprove,forresis‐
tanceisnotreversible.Therefore,thereisanur‐
gentneedtoembarkuponitinadeterminedman‐
ner.Someofthemostinstantaneousactionscould
be:
1.Synchronizationbetweenhuman,veterinary
andenvironmentalsectorstorecognizethe
magnitudeoftherelationshipsamongthe
occurrencesofantimicrobialresistancein
humans,animalsandtheenvironment.
2.Enforcementofexistinglegislation.Approxi‐
mately80%oftheworld’saquaculturepro‐
ductionoriginatesincountrieswitheither
scarceboundariesonantimicrobialuseor
negligentenforcement.
3.Themosteffectivemeanstoforestallthe
developmentandextendofantimicrobial
resistanceistoreducetheneedforantibiotic
treatment.
4.Impartingeducationaboutthesensibleuse
ofantibioticstotheaquaculturesectorsis
needful.



6
Vigneshetal.,SouthAsianJExpBiol;1(3):xxx‐xxx;2011
6.Conclusion
Researchmustcontinueintothedevelopmentof
safeandeffectivevaccinesagainstbacteria.Safe
andeffectivevaccineseliminatetheneedtoapply
antibiotics.Thepresenceofresidualantibiotics/
antibioticresidues,antibioticresistanceinmarine
bacteriaandinfishpathogens,andeffectsonthe
diversityofphytoplanktonandzooplanktoninar‐
eassurroundingaquaculturesitesshouldalsobe
ascertained.Investigationofthepresenceofresid‐
ualantibiotics/antibioticresiduesinfree‐ranging
(wild)fishandshellfisharoundaquaculturesites
andinthemeatofmarketablesalmonisnecessary.
Thepassageofantibioticresistancedeterminants
frombacteriainthemarineenvironmenttohuman
andterrestrialanimalpathogensshouldalsobe
investigated.Centralizedepidemiologicalstudiesof
fishinfectionsshouldbeimplementedandtheir
resultsrelatedtoantibioticusageandantibiotic
resistanceshouldbejustified.Thepotentialforex‐
posureofaquacultureworkerstoantibioticsshould
bedeterminedandthepotentialeffectsofthisex‐
posureshouldbeascertained.
Medicineshaveanimportantroleinthetreatment
andpreventionofdiseaseinbothhumansandani‐
mals.Althoughthesideeffectsonhumanandani‐
malhealthareusuallyinvestigatedinthorough
safetyandtoxicologystudies,thepotentialenvi‐
ronmentalimpactsofthemanufactureanduseof
medicinesarelesswellunderstoodandhaveonly
recentlybecomeatopicofresearchinterest.
Theaccessibilityofthegreatnumberofantibiotics,
alreadystandardforhumanuse,makesthema
precioussourcefortreatmentofother,thaninfec‐
tiousdiseasesinhumansandanimals.Almostnoth‐
ingisknownabouttheeffectsofsubinhibitoryan‐
tibioticsonarchaeainspiteofthattheyarewell‐
knownmembersinmicrobialcommunities.
Broaderandwelldefinedstudyintheseareaswill
helpinunderstandingtheantibioticsandresistance
mechanismsdevelopedbynaturalecosystems.This
willalsoassistinmakingliablechoiceswheninter‐
actingwiththeseecosystemsintherouteofclinical
oragriculturaluseofantibiotics.

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