State-of-the-Art Vaccine Research for Aquaculture Use: The Case of Three Economically Relevant Fish Species

Abstract

In the last three decades, the aquaculture sector has experienced a 527% growth, producing 82 million tons for a first sale value estimated at 250 billion USD. Infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites are the major causes of mortality and economic losses in commercial aquaculture. Some pathologies, especially those of bacterial origin, can be treated with commercially available drugs, while others are poorly managed. In fact, despite having been recognized as a useful preventive measure, no effective vaccination against many economically relevant diseases exist yet, such as for viral and parasitic infections. The objective of the present review is to provide the reader with an updated perspective on the most significant and innovative vaccine research on three key aquaculture commodities. European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were chosen because of their economic relevance, geographical distinctiveness, and representativeness of different culture systems. Scientific papers about vaccines against bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases will be objectively presented; their results critically discussed and compared; and suggestions for future directions given.

A Bioactive Extract Rich in Triterpenic Acid and Polyphenols from Olea europaea Promotes Systemic Immunity and Protects Atlantic Salmon Smolts Against Furunculosis

“…In this sense, the academy and the industry have merged efforts in order to develop, test, and validate sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative treatments in order to prevent disease outbreaks and to reduce the use of chemotherapeutic drugs. Among the repertoire of tested strategies ( 7 , 8 ), functional feeds are considered as one of the most affordable and sustainable preventive solutions ( 9 ). Feeds that provide physiological benefits beyond the animal’s basic nutritional requirements are named as functional feeds, and their use has progressively gained attention within the aquaculture.…”

Modulation of growth, skin mucus and serum immunities, and disease resistance of Nile tilapia fed host‐associated probiotic (Lactobacillus paracasei l61‐27b)

“…Vaccines have been proven to be a successful mode of preventing bacterial infection in aquaculture (Ma et al, 2019). However, vaccines are strained specific and not applicable in multi-infection strains (Erkinharju et al, 2021;Miccoli et al, 2021).…”

Current status and advances of fish vaccines in Malaysia

“…These diseases have contributed substantial economic losses to the country, and actions must reduce the impact. Vaccination was considered the best control measure to protect the fish from infectious diseases by developing herd immunity [13]. A recent study by Standish et al [14] proved the existence of herd immunity in aquatic animals, which played a crucial role in increasing the survival rate and disease resistance.…”