Original Source

Aquaculture at the Crossroads of Global Warming and Antimicrobial Resistance

Nature Communications

Volume: 11: 1870

20 APR 2020

Reverter, M., Sarter, S., Caruso, D., Avarre, J. -C., Combe, M., Pepey, E., et. al.

199

Yes

From the source: "This work was funded by the French National Research Institute for Development (IRD), by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food (Ecoantibio-2018-196) as well as by the LabEx CeMEB with an ANR “Investissements d’avenir” program (ANR-10-LABX-04-01)."

From the source: "The authors declare no competing interests."
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Summary

Researchers conducted a comprehensive double meta-analysis of 460 articles to assess the impact of both global warming and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on aquaculture. They created a Multi-Antibiotic Resistance index (MAR) for aquaculture-related bacteria in 40 countries, most of which were classified as low-and-middle income. Increasing temperatures were associated with higher mortality rates in aquatic animals infected with bacterial pathogens. There was a strong correlation between AMR in aquaculture-related bacteria and antibiotic resistance in human clinical bacteria. Countries vulnerable to climate change were more likely to have higher AMR risks.

The authors note a few limitations. First, varied reporting of AMR by different countries could limit the MAR estimates. Secondly, they only included data from experimental infections and their conclusions require validation from field studies. A strength of the research is its rigorous and systematic approach to the literature research, inclusion criteria, and data extraction, ensuring a comprehensive and reliable dataset for analysis. The research underscores the critical importance of regulating antibiotic use and promoting sustainable aquaculture practices to address the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.

In many developing countries, aquaculture is key to ensuring food security for millions of people. It is thus important to measure the full implications of environmental changes on the sustainability of aquaculture. We conduct a double meta-analysis (460 articles) to explore how global warming and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) impact aquaculture. We calculate a Multi-Antibiotic Resistance index (MAR) of aquaculture-related bacteria (11,274 isolates) for 40 countries, of which mostly low- and middle-income countries present high AMR levels. Here we show that aquaculture MAR indices correlate with MAR indices from human clinical bacteria, temperature and countries’ climate vulnerability. We also find that infected aquatic animals present higher mortalities at warmer temperatures. Countries most vulnerable to climate change will probably face the highest AMR risks, impacting human health beyond the aquaculture sector, highlighting the need for urgent action. Sustainable solutions to minimise antibiotic use and increase system resilience are therefore needed.