Antibiotic Resistant Microbial Load:A Study From Freshwater and Waste Water Fish in West Bengal, India

Studies were carried out on bacteriological contamination of digestive tract and fresh contents of Labeo sp. reared in fresh water and waste water. Number of bacteria in fresh and gut contents of fish reflected their densities in water. Among four antibiotics (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, tetracycline) used, ampicillin resistant bacteria were the most numerous. In case of digestive tract, however, bacteria contents remained too high. Fishes collected from fresh water culture system possess less amount of bacterial contents both in flesh and in gut. Whereas fish samples collected from waste fed ponds showed higher amount of bacterial loads. The waste fed fishes also showed a high amount of antibiotic resistant bacteria loads both in flesh as well as in gut. It may pose a potent danger for the consumers and the fishermen.