Antimicrobial Resistance in Aquaculture Environments: Unravelling the Complexity and Connectivity of the Underlying Societal Drivers

Abstract

Food production environments in low-and middleincome countries (LMICs) are recognized as posing significant and increasing risks to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), one of the greatest threats to global public health and food security systems. In order to maximize and expedite action in mitigating AMR, the World Bank and AMR Global Leaders Group have recommended that AMR is integrated into wider sustainable development strategies. Thus, there is an urgent need for tools to support decision makers in unravelling the complex social and environmental factors driving AMR in LMIC food-producing environments and in demonstrating meaningful connectivity with other sustainable development issues. Here, we applied the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) conceptual framework to an aquaculture case study site in rural Bangladesh, through the analysis of distinct social, microbiological, and metagenomic data sets. We show how the DPSIR framework supports the integration of these diverse data sets, first to systematically characterize the complex network of societal drivers of AMR in these environments and second to delineate the connectivity between AMR and wider sustainable development issues. Our study illustrates the complexity and challenges of addressing AMR in rural aquaculture environments and supports efforts to implement global policy aimed at mitigating AMR in aquaculture and other rural LMIC foodproducing environments.

Metagenomic assessment of the diversity and ubiquity of antimicrobial resistance genes in Bangladeshi aquaculture ponds

“…We applied metagenomic sequencing to investigate the microbial and ARG composition and diversity in finfish ponds at six different fish farms in the Mymensingh division in North-central Bangladesh. In a previous study, we used a smaller metagenome data analysis from these pond samples to support the building of a framework to better understand the risks of antimicrobial resistance in aquatic food-producing environments in Bangladesh (Thornber et al, 2022). Here were expanded our analysis significantly to assess ARG types, abundance and multi-resistance genes in these ponds to assess for differences across space and time (over seasons).…”

“…Fish ponds were rural earthen ponds enclosed by dykes that varied in size from 1200 and 16000 m 2 (mean 4000 m 2 , median 2500 m 2 ) and between 1 m and 1.5 m in depth. Farmers at each farm were retrospectively interviewed in 2021, as described in (Thornber et al, 2022) to ascertain the pond conditions in which the fish were reared. Ponds were topped up, on average weekly, with a mixture of rainwater and groundwater sources depending on rainfall conditions and seasons.…”

Bacterial diseases in marine fish species: current trends and future prospects in disease management

“…Selective pressures from the usage of antibiotics fuel antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Over the past ten years, the availability of evidence around antimicrobial resistance has broadened (Buschmann et al 2012 ; Schar et al 2020 ; Thornber et al 2022 ; Caputo et al 2023 ).…”

Integrated water quality dynamics in Wadi Hanifah: Physical, chemical, and biological perspectives

“…In addition, the biological dimension, particularly the diversity of bacterial populations, is critical for understanding the ecological repercussions of contaminants and eutrophication processes [17,18]. Research indicates that integrating these facets yields a more comprehensive understanding of the health of aquatic ecosystems [19,20].…”