Dynamic thermoregulation as an alternative to antibiotics

 

Aquaculture ensures a reliable source of high-quality food products for humanity. However, the annual global aquaculture industry’s losses of fish and shrimp are significant. Disease outbreaks caused by parasitic, viral and bacterial infections cost approximately USD50 billion (approximately CAD70 billion) a year. Common methods to treat infections in aquaculture include vaccines and the use of antibiotics in both a prophylactic and therapeutic manner, although antibiotics are useless for viral infections and prolonged use can lead to the emergence of resistant bacterial strains. Antibiotic resistance makes it difficult for fish and shrimp farmers to treat bacterial infections and represents a real risk to the health of other species, including humans. Vaccines for finfish are still not very effective and current vaccines that show efficacy are generally costly, especially for small-scale producers or those in low- and middle-income countries.

What is required are simple, low-technology, cost-effective solutions that can improve fish health and disease outcomes in aquaculture species. These species rely on the water surrounding them for regulation of their body temperature. Sudden changes can induce disease outbreaks; however, recent research has shown that variation in water temperature can be exploited by fish, and perhaps other organisms, to improve their response to diseases. This project will test whether mechanical thermoregulation in hatchery and pond settings can decrease the use of antibiotics and improve the effectiveness of complementary treatments for tilapia and shrimp.

This project is funded through InnoVet-AMR2, a four-year partnership between IDRC and the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care. The initiative is aimed at reducing the emerging risk that antimicrobial resistance in animals poses to global health and food security.