Aims: The aims of this study were: (i) to determine the proportions of Aeromonas spp. resistant to florfenicol (FC), oxolinic acid (OA) and oxytetracycline (OTC) along a river receiving effluents from fish farms, and (ii) to assess the relevance of using this bacterial group as an indicator for studying the consequences of the use and release of these aquacultural antimicrobials in the freshwater environment, as compared with performing antimicrobial measurements in sediments.
Methods and results: Sediment interstitial waters sampled along a river during two distinct climatic seasons were plated on an Aeromonas-selective medium supplemented or not with OA, OTC or FC. The October 2004 campaign showed an enrichment of OA- and OTC-resistant Aeromonas immediately downstream of the fish farms and a wastewater treatment plant. Two fish farms showed similar results in March 2005. In contrast, only 10 FC-resistant Aeromonas strains could be isolated, which revealed that minimum inhibitory concentrations of FC were greater than 64 microg ml(-1) and multiple antimicrobial resistances. Contamination of sediments by antimicrobials was detected but was not always co-localized with resistance peaks or known point sources of contamination.
Conclusions: Aeromonas could be valuable indicators of OA, OTC and FC resistance in the freshwater environment. Fish farms contribute to the contamination of the river by antimicrobials and resistant bacteria.
Significance and impact of the study: Considering the still very low proportion of FC-resistant Aeromonas, this study can be considered as a reference for further studies about this recently introduced veterinary antimicrobial agent.