Considerations on the Aquaculture Development and on the Use of Veterinary Drugs: Special Issue for Fluoroquinolones—A Review

Abstract

Aquaculture has become an important source of fish available for human consumption. In order to achieve greater productivity, intensive fish cultivation systems are employed, which can cause greater susceptibility to diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Antimicrobial substances are compounds used in livestock production with the objectives of inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and treatment or prevention of diseases. It is well recognized that the issues of antimicrobial use in food animals are of global concern about its impact on food safety. This paper present an overview of the aquaculture production in the whole world, raising the particularities in Brazil, highlighting the importance of the use of veterinary drugs in this system of animal food production, and address the potential risks arising from their indiscriminate use and their impacts on aquaculture production as they affect human health and the environment. The manuscript also discusses the analytical methods commonly used in the determination of veterinary drug residues in fish, with special issue for fluroquinolones residues and with emphasis on employment of LC-MS/MS analytical technique.

Complete Sequences of IncU Plasmids Harboring Quinolone Resistance Genes qnrS2 and aac(6 ′ )-Ib-cr in Aeromonas spp. from Ornamental Fish

“…Most IncU plasmids described in this genus to date share a highly conserved backbone represented by genes for plasmid replication, stability, and conjugative transfer and one variable region for resistance genes to antibiotics, such as tetracyclines, sulfonamides, trimethoprim, streptomycin, and chloramphenicol (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6). Quinolones are broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents widely used in human and veterinary medicine, and they are among the most widely used antibiotics in aquacultures (7). Aeromonas isolates harboring quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes on IncU plasmids have been recently reported in river water, lake water, and fish (2,3,6,8), highlighting the role of this plasmid family in dissemination of clinically relevant resistance mechanisms in a wide range of aquatic environments.…”

Fisheries or aquaculture? Unravelling key determinants of livelihoods in the Brazilian semi-arid region

“…Also, the use of antibiotics in tilapia cultures could contaminate the water used for human consumption (Quesada, Paschoal & Reyes, ). Although the use of antibiotics in fish farming are regulated in Brazil (Quesada et al., ), enforcement is not always the rule, especially in the least developed areas, raising multiple issues, including the use of illicit antibiotics (Hashimoto et al., ). The concentration of tilapias in cages also increases waste in shallow reservoirs, which could lead to reservoir eutrophication (Starling, Lazzaro, Cavalcanti & Moreira, ), especially at the high stocking densities done in Brazil (100 kg of fish per m 3 ) (Garcia, Kimpara, Valenti & Ambrosio, ).…”

Benthification, biotic homogenization behind the trophic downgrading in altered ecosystems

“…Commonly, fish are limited by nitrogen in artificial environments (Cole et al 2006, Holtgrieve et al 2011, among other sources, because of the presence of N 2 -fixing cyanobacteria and other Nrich sources (Darchambeau et al 2014), which can be related to the N-based fertilizers employed in aquaculture (Quesada et al 2013) and to agricultural activities in surrounding areas (Stein and Klotz 2016). Indeed, recent studies emphasize the role of the bacterial loop as bottom-up support, instead of the phytoplankton by itself (Darchambeau et al 2014).…”