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• Stop the usage of banned veterinary drugs in diseases in aquaculture, which in turn invites the use of
aquaculture, including the practice of mislabeling/ antimicrobials.
misleading declaration of these drugs, and ensure
prudent and responsible use of antibiotics; Considering the public health concerns about the
• Stop the application of antibiotics as growth consequences of abuse and over-use of antimicrobials,
widespread awareness and stringent drug regulations are
promoters in aquaculture and regulate the import necessary to limit their application. The implementation of
of banned antimicrobials in aquaculture; efficient strategies to contain and manage gene resistance
• Labels of approved aquatic animal drugs should emergence and spread is also critical, requiring innovative
contain some specific information like “Aquatic research, state of the art diagnostic tools and trained staff.
Animal Use Only”, to be used only after proper
consultation with registered aquatic animal health Ultimately, perhaps one of the best ways to tackle the issue
professionals, etc; of AMR is to encourage the implementation of farming
• Build awareness on antibiotic-free farming protocols that reduce stress on the fish, which then decreases
the chances of pathogen outbreaks, and thus reduces the
methods, biofloc-farming and alternatives to
antibiotics (prebiotics, probiotics, phyto-biotics, necessity for antibiotics.
immunostimulants, bacteriophage therapy, quorum References
sensing and vaccine etc);
• Strengthen surveillance on AMR in humans and food 1. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, SOFIA
2018. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United
animals ;
Nations, Rome, Italy. pp 1-227.
• Stop the application of all kinds of organic manure in 2. FAO International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability:
aquaculture and ensure Best Management Practices Strengthening the Science Policy Nexus, 18-21
at every step of the aquatic food production chain; November 2019, Rome, Italy.
• Coordinated multi-sectoral research is required to 3. Bondad-Reantaso, M.G., 2018. Responsible and Prudent
assess the impact of AMR in aquaculture and to use of Veterinary Antimicrobials: Practical Tools and
develop alternative products to antibiotics; Experiences( Session-4). Country Level Implementation:
• Follow WHO/OIE/FAO recommendations regarding FAO Experience in Aquaculture. 2nd OIE Global
responsible and prudent use of antimicrobial agents Conference on Antimicrobial Resitance and Prudent use
to reduce the misuse of antimicrobials in animals of Antimicrobial Agents in Animals. Putting Standards
and to protect public health. into Practice. 29-31 October, 2018. Marrakesh, Morocco.
pp 1-38.
Some take-away points 4. https://www.who.int/features/qa/75/en/

The true cost of AMR is hard to predict, but an antimicrobial 5. Watts and Lanska et al. 2017. The Rising Tide of
resistance review published in London stated that 10 million Antimicrobial Resistance in Aquaculture: Sources, Sinks
and Solutions. Mar. Drugs 2017 Jun 1; 15(6). pii: E158;
lives a year by 2050, and a cumulative US$100 trillion of doi:10.3390/md15060158. pp 1-16.
economic output are at risk, and a 2-3.5% decrease in global
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), may be expected due to the 6. FAO, 2020. Report of the FAO Expert Working
7
rise of drug resistant infections. Group Meeting “Scoping Exercise to Increase the
Understanding of Risks of Antimicrobial Resistance
Basically, the higher the content of antibiotic resistant (AMR) in Aquaculture,” Palermo, Italy, 26-29 November
bacteria in farm environments, the greater the threat to fish 2018. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1268.
farms as they serve as a source of antibiotic resistant genes Rome.
for fish pathogens. This resistant bacteria can eventually be 7. Antimicrobial Resistance Review: Government Response
transferred to humans through opportunistic pathogens. London: Welcome Trust and Department of Health.
Thus any kind of farm intensification which ignores best Available online: http://amr-review.org/Publications.
management protocols increases the spread of bacterial html(accessed on 25 May 2017).

Sujit Krishna Das is the Technical Officer at INFOFISH

INFOFISH International 3/2020 ● www.infofish.org