http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130115143858.htm
The $15 billion ornamental fish industry faces a global problem with antibiotic
resistance, a new study concludes, raising concern that treatments for fish
diseases may not work when needed -- and creating yet another mechanism
for exposing humans to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The risk to humans is probably minor unless they frequently work with fish or have compromised immune
systems, researchers said, although transmission of disease from tropical fish has been shown to occur.
More serious is the risk to this industry, which has grown significantly in recent years, and is now a $900
million annual business in the United States.
In the new study, 32 freshwater fish of various species were tested for resistance to nine different
antibiotics, and some resistance was found to every antibiotic. The highest level of resistance, 77 percent,
was found with the common antibiotic tetracycline. The fish were tested in Portland, Ore., after being
transported from Colombia, Singapore and Florida.
"The range of resistance is often quite disturbing," the scientists wrote in their report. "It is not uncommon
to see resistance to a wide range of antibiotic classes, including beta-lactams, macrolides, tetracyclines,
sulphonamides, quinolones, cephalosporins and chloramphenicol."
The $15 billion ornamental fish industry faces a global problem with antibiotic
resistance, a new study concludes, raising concern that treatments for fish
diseases may not work when needed -- and creating yet another mechanism
for exposing humans to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The risk to humans is probably minor unless they frequently work with fish or have compromised immune
systems, researchers said, although transmission of disease from tropical fish has been shown to occur.
More serious is the risk to this industry, which has grown significantly in recent years, and is now a $900
million annual business in the United States.
In the new study, 32 freshwater fish of various species were tested for resistance to nine different
antibiotics, and some resistance was found to every antibiotic. The highest level of resistance, 77 percent,
was found with the common antibiotic tetracycline. The fish were tested in Portland, Ore., after being
transported from Colombia, Singapore and Florida.
"The range of resistance is often quite disturbing," the scientists wrote in their report. "It is not uncommon
to see resistance to a wide range of antibiotic classes, including beta-lactams, macrolides, tetracyclines,
sulphonamides, quinolones, cephalosporins and chloramphenicol."
