Antibiotic residues from aquaculture farms and their ecological risks in Southeast Asia: a case study from Malaysia

Abstract

One major source of antibiotic contamination in the sea is from aquaculture. We monitored concentration of commonly used antibiotic classes and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs: tet(M), sul1, sul2 and sul3) in seven main aquaculture production stations in Peninsular Malaysia and detected twenty-three antibiotics. Tetracyclines, sulfonamides and quinolones were the most frequently detected antibiotic classes, 2 indicating a wide distribution of antibiotics in Malaysian aquaculture farms.Oxytetracycline, tetracycline and minocycline were the common tetracyclines (LOQ-2.45× 10 2 ng/L) detected, while sulfamerazine and sulfathiazole were commonly detected sulfonamides (LOQ-2.82× 2 ng/L) among the farms. For quinolones (LOQ-9.58 × 10 5 ng/L), enrofloxacin, nalidixic acid, and ofloxacin were the most 31 common. Relative to Asian aquaculture farms, the residues detected here were at low 32 or moderate levels except for quinolones. The dendrogram and heatmap revealed 33 three groups of antibiotic concentration patterns but with no differences in the types of antibiotics usage among aquaculture farms were observed. The ARGs (10 -3 copies/16S) were detected in more than 90% of the sites except for sul3. There was also high ecological risks of ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, norfloxacin and lincomycin for cyanobacteria and algae in Kelantan, Perak and Pahang. This is the first study to shed light on the antibiotic contamination, ARGs in aquaculture systems and its potential ecological risk in the coasts of Malaysia. This study will be useful to develop effective management of aquaculture wastewater in order to mitigate antibiotic pollution and transmission of ARGs to humans through the food chain.

Prevalence and Diversity of Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia coli From Anthropogenic-Impacted Larut River

“…Meanwhile, sul3 is initially suspected to be of human origin ( 94 ), but numerous studies have reported their prevalence in E. coli isolates from animals and livestock ( 95 – 97 ). Thus, the widespread of sul3 among E. coli isolates in this study was most likely due to the consumption of sulfonamide by humans and veterinary use ( 29 , 36 , 42 ). Sulfonamides are widely used in Asian countries, and in Malaysia, the usage in veterinary medicine was ~18,000 kg per year ( 98 ).…”

“…In this study, we assessed tetracycline and sulfonamide resistance genes as both tetracycline and sulfonamide are old antibiotics that were among the most widely used antibiotics in humans and animals particularly in Southeast Asia, either as therapeutic and/or prophylactic agents ( 36 ). For tet gene detection, multiplex PCR was used to screen 14 tet genes ( 37 ).…”

OneHealth Approaches Contribute Towards Antimicrobial Resistance: Malaysian Perspective

“…According to MyAP-AMR (2017–2021), at present, no register or list of the permitted antibiotics to be used by the aqua-culturist in Malaysia is available. Based on the previous studies conducted in Asian countries, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, quinolone, sulfonamides, oxolinic acid, and trimethoprim are among the antibiotics that are allowed and commonly used ( Thiang et al, 2021 ). Since the antibiotics used in aquaculture belong to the same group as those used for humans, the issue of AMR in fish should be equally attended to as per the One Health agenda.…”

Autogenous vaccination in aquaculture: A locally enabled solution towards reduction of the global antimicrobial resistance problem

“…Moreover, environmental discharge of antibiotics via aquaculture likely has a role in the wider development and dissemination of AMR and its acquisition by human pathogens 19 and additional deleterious effects on the health of the receiving ecosystem. 18 Rapid recourse to inexpensive, easily accessible antibiotics where economic exclusion may hinder access to skilled veterinary advice may mean that the contribution of husbandry, water quality, feeding regime, farm design and nutrition to disease expression is overlooked. Thus, the opportunities for disease control and concomitant reduction in antimicrobial use through correction of these risk factors are missed.…”