Phage therapy and photodynamic therapy: low environmental impact approaches to inactivate microorganisms in fish farming plants

Mar Drugs. 2009 Jul 30;7(3):268-313. doi: 10.3390/md7030268.

Abstract

Owing to the increasing importance of aquaculture to compensate for the progressive worldwide reduction of natural fish and to the fact that several fish farming plants often suffer from heavy financial losses due to the development of infections caused by microbial pathogens, including multidrug resistant bacteria, more environmentally-friendly strategies to control fish infections are urgently needed to make the aquaculture industry more sustainable. The aim of this review is to briefly present the typical fish farming diseases and their threats and discuss the present state of chemotherapy to inactivate microorganisms in fish farming plants as well as to examine the new environmentally friendly approaches to control fish infection namely phage therapy and photodynamic antimicrobial therapy.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance; fish farming; phage therapy; photodynamic therapy.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Bacterial Infections / therapy
  • Bacterial Infections / veterinary
  • Bacteriophages*
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
  • Fish Diseases / therapy*
  • Fisheries / methods
  • Fishes
  • Photochemotherapy / veterinary*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents