Enhancing the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in fish farming in France
Résumé
Antimicrobial resistance (AR) is acknowledged by health organizations as one of the major health challenges of the XXI century. In France, the “Ecoantibio” program has been designed to reduce the use of veterinary drugs by 25% in 5 years. Fish farming (FF) is considered as a minor production in France, the therapeutic arsenal available is limited. FF is not included in European plan of surveillance of AR. In France, the few data on AR in FF are provided by the national network Resapath which collects annually antibiograms from a network of veterinary diagnostic laboratories. In 2015, FF represented 0.4% of the 41 298 antibiograms collected. In 2016, an epidemiological survey was conducted to assess the antibiogram practices in FF. An exhaustive panel of French veterinarians and veterinary laboratories involved in FF were interviewed in face to face. Three forms adapted for veterinarians, veterinarians with analytical activities or laboratories were used. Interviews, retranscription and data analysis were done by a unique investigator (PhD vet student). Out of the 800 antibiograms done annually in FF, only ¼ was collected by Resapath. Main difficulties were the diversity of species of bacteria, and the absence of harmonized methods for FF bacteria. In 2017, a bacteriological study was launched in collaboration with French veterinarians and laboratories. Its aim is to go towards a standardization of antibiogram methods for fish bacteria. Due to their importance in freshwater FF, Aeromonas salmonicida and Yersinia ruckeri were prioritized. The antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates of A. salmonicida and Y. ruckeri, provided by French veterinarians and laboratories, will be assessed using broth dilution and agar diffusion methods following CLSI guidelines, by one lab (Anses, Mycoplasmology-Bacteriology unit). Correlation between minimal inhibitory concentrations value and inhibition zone diameters will be analyzed. These results should be completed by large number of isolates coming from different geographic areas and should be extended to other bacterial species of veterinary interest. Such data could be useful to committees like Vetcast or CLSI which deal with the elaboration of epidemiological Cut Off values and clinical breakpoints for bacterial pathogens of animal origin and bacteria with zoonotic potential