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Antibiotics are widely used in aquaculture and therefore may be present as a dietary risk in cultured aquatic products. Using the Tai Lake Basin as a study area, we assessed the presence of 15 antibiotics in 5 widely cultured aquatic species using a newly developed dietary risk ranking approach. By assigning scores to each factor involved in the ranking matrices, the scores of dietary risks per antibiotic and per aquatic species were calculated. The results indicated that fluoroquinolone antibiotics posed the highest dietary risk in all aquatic species. Then, the total scores per aquatic species were summed by all 15 antibiotic scores of antibiotics, it was found that Crab ( Eriocheir sinensis ) had the highest dietary risks. Finally, the most concerned antibiotic category and aquatic species were selected. This study highlighted the importance of dietary risk ranking in the production and consumption of cultured aquatic products around Tai Lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most important fishery medicines, sulfonamides are widely used to prevent diseases caused by pathogens in aquaculture. However, relatively little is known about the residues and dietary risks associated with cultured fish around Tai Lake. In the present study, a sampling strategy for a complete aquaculture period was conducted. Specifically, 12 selected sulfonamide antibiotics were measured among 116 fish samples recruited from four sampling periods, four species, four areas, and 18 fish ponds. All 12 antibiotics were detected at detection frequencies of 4.31-28.45%. Total sulfonamides were detected in 77.59% of the fish samples, with 57.76% of fish samples containing from 0.1 to 10 μg kg. Sulfadiazine (SDZ), sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), sulfamethazine (SDD), and sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) were the main types of antibiotics used, and these were present at high concentrations (>100 μg kg) with high occurrences, especially in the middle of the aquaculture season. Dietary assessment showed that residual antibiotics in all fish that were being sent to market were far below the maximum residue limit (MRL) of total sulfonamides and that there was almost no risk associated with fish consumption. The results of the present study will facilitate development of effective measures to produce safe aquatic products and meaningful suggestions for consuming aquatic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotics are widely used to improve the health and yields of farmed animals, including fish, but their use is accompanied by undesirable ecological effects. Relatively little is known about the water-body burden of antibiotics and their influence on primary productivity in aquaculture ecosystem. In this study, antibiotics usage within 24 fishponds, covering 4 areas, sampled 5 times, and having 5 fish species, was investigated surrounding Tai Lake in China. The study analyzed 15 antibiotics (including 5 sulfonamides, 2 quinolones, 3 β-lactams, 3 tetracyclines, 1 amphenicol, and 1 macrolide), and all of them were detected in water samples, with a detection frequency of 2–60%. Sulfonamides were the most prevalent, and concentrations of sulfamethoxazole, sulfamonomethoxine, and florfenicol being over 2000 ng L −1 in some samples, while the other antibiotics levels ranged from ND (no detection) to 551.18 ng L −1 . Significant differences were observed in antibiotic burden among different regions for total antibiotics, sulfonamides, quinolones, and amphenicols; among time points for quinolones, β-lactams, and tetracyclines; and among species for quinolones and macrolides. Furthermore, basing on the risk quotient (RQ) method, the assessment revealed that florfenicol was of highest risk to algae with RQ values exceeding 0.1, while macrolide erythromycin posed the second highest risk. The partial correlation coefficient between total antibiotics and chlorophyll (a) was −0.035 that clearly indicated total antibiotics were detrimental to green algae growth, while the nutrient input and other physical – chemical factors were much more beneficial. Overall, holistic far-reaching measures of antibiotics control are recommended to preserve aquaculture ecosystem health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]