Application of veterinary antibiotics in China’s aquaculture industry and their potential human health risks

Abstract

China contributes to more than 60 % of the global aquaculture production, and its aquaculture industry has become one of the main players in food security. A large amount of antibiotics is believed to be used in fish cultivation for ensuring adequate production. The use of antibiotics as disease control agents and growth promoter in aquaculture in China has raised significant concerns recently because of the potential threats to human health. The extensive use of antibiotics in aquaculture may result in water and sediment contamination and the development of antibiotic resistance genes. In this review, the role of aquaculture in antibiotic contamination of the environment as well as the emerging concern of antibiotic resistance genes in China is discussed. Based on this review, it has been concluded that more information regarding the types and quantities of antibiotics used by Chinese fish farmers is required. Studies about the contribution of antibiotic usage in aquaculture to environmental levels in surface water, their potential risks on environment and human health, and the existence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes in aquaculture are needed.

Occurrence of multiple antibiotic resistance and genotypic characterization inEdwardsiella tardaisolated from cage‐cultured hybrid red tilapia (Oreochromissp.) in the Ping River, Northern Thailand

“…Similar research was observed in Japan (Wimalasena et al, ), while the previous study showed E. tarda was sensitive to streptomycin and florfenicol (Fukui, Fujihara, & Kano, ; Muyembe et al, ). Florfenicol can be administered via feed to aquatic animals, which could significantly enhance growth performance and control the mortality due to bacterial infection (Mo, Chen, Leung, & Leung, ). However, the application of antibiotic in feed might lead to the emergence of antibiotic‐resistant isolates.…”

Dietary supplementation of Bacillus cereus as probiotics in Pengze crucian carp ( Carassius auratus var. Pengze): Effects on growth performance, fillet quality, serum biochemical parameters and intestinal histology

“…2015; Sahoo, Jena, Patel, & Seshadri, 2016). To maintain sustainable aquaculture production, in last few decades, antibiotics and chemotherapeutics as traditional drugs were commonly used for infectious diseases treatment and prevention, accompanying by a risk of emergence of microbial dysbiosis, resistant pathogenic bacteria, and accumulation of antibiotics in aquaculture food products which led to food safety issues for human health (Liu, Steele, & Meng, 2017;Mo, Chen, Leung, & Leung, 2017). Therefore, the development of natural and eco-friendly methods such as non-antibiotic farming is widely accepted in Chinese aquaculture industry and globally as well (Schmidt, Gomezchiarri, Roy, Smith, & Amaralzettler, 2017).…”

Bacterial community composition in a polyculture system ofRhopilema esculenta,Penaeus monodonandRuditapes philippinarum

“…The rapid development of aquaculture not only provides a lot of food but also creates extremely high economic benefits for human beings (Wang et al, ). As one of the primary industries in China, aquaculture accounts for approximately 71% of the global aquaculture production (Mo, Chen, Leung, & Leung, ). Liaodong Bay is a part of Bohai and the inlet of the Liaohe and Daling River in northeast China.…”