Latin American & Caribbean Aquaculture 2025

October 7 - 9, 2025

Puerto Varas, Chile

Add To Calendar 07/10/2025 16:30:0007/10/2025 16:50:00America/GogotaLatin American & Caribbean Aquaculture 2025COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN STURGEON PATHOGENS OVER A DECADECalbucoThe World Aquaculture Societyjohnc@was.orgfalseDD/MM/YYYYanrl65yqlzh3g1q0dme13067

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN STURGEON PATHOGENS OVER A DECADE

Alejandro Perretta*, Ignacio Quartiani, Nora Mestorino & Gonzalo Suarez

Unidad Académica Acuicultura 
Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República - Uruguay 
alejandro.perretta@fvet.edu.uy



Uruguay stands out as the leading sturgeon producer in the southern hemisphere and ranks among the world’s top ten caviar exporters. Under neotropical climate conditions, infections caused by motile Aeromonas spp. and Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE) represent the primary health challenges in this aquaculture sector. This study aimed to evaluate the temporal changes in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of these pathogens by comparing data from two large-scale sampling campaigns carried out a decade apart (2010 and 2020) in Uruguayan sturgeon farms. The analysis revealed a significant rise in resistance among Aeromonas isolates, increasing from 27.3% in 2010 to 65% in 2020 (p<0.05), whereas no significant variation was observed in SDSE isolates (41.7% vs. 40.9%, p>0.05). The odds of resistance in Aeromonas spp. were four times higher in 2020 compared to 2010 (OR=4.1, 95% CI: 1.6–12.1), while resistance levels in SDSE remained stable (OR=0.98, 95% CI: 0.43–2.25). A similar trend was seen in multidrug resistance: the proportion of multi-resistant Aeromonas spp. rose sharply from 36.3% to 81.8% (p<0.05), whereas SDSE isolates consistently exhibited high multidrug resistance (83.3% vs. 81.8%, p>0.05). These findings suggest a concerning escalation in antimicrobial and multidrug resistance among Aeromonas spp. infecting farmed sturgeons, likely linked to increased antimicrobial usage prompted by more frequent disease outbreaks.