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How to help the anti-infective immunity of European carp Mara Thomas, Justyna Andrysiak, Proteon Pharma
The excessive use of antibiotics has triggered the development of resistance in bacteria rendering most antibiotics partially or completely ineffective. The aquaculture industry is greatly responsible especially due to the overuse of antibiotics. In 2016, Chile used 382.5 tons of antibiotics for the salmon industry alone (Miranda et al. 2018). Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) also has a substantial economic impact. In Chile, the AMR crisis of 2009, dropped the value of their production by $2 billion until 2011 (Asche et al. 2009). This has revealed a necessity for innovative alternatives to help tackle the AMR threat. Bacteriophages, simply called phages, are viruses that attack only bacteria. They help eliminate excessively multiplying bacteria that could lead to pathological conditions without
disturbing the microbiome, as antibiotics do. As they are naturally occurring in the environment, they pose little to no threat of developing resistance. BAFADOR® is a bacteriophage cocktail that targets Aeromonas and Pseudomonas bacteria and helps strengthen the fish’s immune system. This study aims to assess its efficacy as a feed additive used prophylactically in European carp.
Methodology This study used 180 healthy carp (Cyprinus carpio). Upon their arrival, they were randomly split into three groups, each with 3 repetitions and they all underwent an acclimatization period of 12 days. They were kept in 180L tanks at a temperature of 18,6°C and were fed Ofeedo Extracarp 25 commercial diet manually.
Aquafeed: Advances in Processing & Formulation Vol 13 Issue 3 2021
