By Janet Krenn, Staff Writer
“Right now we don’t have an FDA-approved antibiotic to treat diseases in marine fish, so it’s a major industry limitation,” says Mike Schwarz. As a Virginia Tech aquaculture specialist and affiliated extension with Virginia Sea Grant, Schwarz sees one of his goals as addressing these limitations.
This summer Schwarz joined forces with researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership Program to investigate whether an antibiotic used in freshwater aquaculture could be used in marine finfish aquaculture. The work is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The researchers are testing the antibiotic on two species of marine fish. Schwarz and his team at Virginia Tech’s Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center are working with pompano and cobia. The lab has already been instrumental in developing the protocols for spawning, larval rearing, and grow out in both species.
The antibiotic work, however, is very different—and this is the first time the lab has tackled this kind of research. For an antibiotic to gain FDA approval, studies conducted to demonstrate its safety and effectiveness must meet rigorous standards, following protocols not only for testing but for documenting trials.
All research requires due diligence and careful recording of observations, but drug safety trials are done in compliance with federal “Good Laboratory Practice” standards and overseen by an independent quality assurance officer. According to Schwarz, the lab must closely document every process and fully explain any recording errors, including small slips of the pen.
“If you write a 3, you can’t just make it into an 8,” he explains. Instead you have to line it out and document a recording error. It’s a strict process, but Schwarz points out: “We’re entering the realm of animal and human health and safety, and there is no room for mistakes.”
Read more about the study at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale website: http://news.siu.edu/2015/08/081715tjc15040.php
