ABSTRACT
The administration of antimicrobials in aquaculture provides a selective pressure creating a reservoir of multiple resistant bacteria in the cultured fish and shrimps as well as the aquaculture environment. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of antibiotic resistance in aquaculture products and aquaculture's surrounding environment in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Ninety-four identified bacterial isolates constituted of 17 genera were isolated from sediment, water, and cultured organisms (fish and shrimp) in selected aquaculture farms. These isolates were tested for their antibiotic resistance against 22 antibiotics from several groups using the disk diffusion method. The results show that the highest resistance was observed towards streptomycin (85%, n = 20), while the lowest resistance was towards gentamicin (1.1%, n = 90). The multiple antibiotic resistant (MAR) index of the isolates tested ranged between 0 and 0.63. It was suggested that isolates with MAR index > 0.2 were recovered from sources with high risk of antibiotic resistant contamination. This study revealed low level of antibiotic resistance in the aquaculture bacterial isolates except for streptomycin and ampicillin (>50% resistance, n = 94) which have been used in the aquaculture industry for several decades. Antibiotic resistant patterns should be continuously monitored to predict the emergence and widespread of MAR. Effective action is needed to keep the new resistance from further developing and spreading.
