Use of oxytetracycline for the treatment of tremor disease in the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis

作者：Liang Tingming; Feng Qi; Wu Ting; Gu Wei; Wang Wen^*

来源：Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 2009, 84(3): 243-250.

DOI：10.3354/dao02052

• Oxytetracycline
• Spiroplasma
• Tremor disease
• Acute toxicity
• Chinese mitten crab
• Eriocheir sinensis

The causative agent of tremor disease (TD) in the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis has been shown to be a member of the genus Spiroplasma, In the present study, a susceptibility test indicated that oxytetracycline (OTC) has both a high degree of efficacy in the inhibition of Spiroplasma and a broad range of safe concentrations. Treatment experiments showed that the best concentration of OTC for use against TD was 40 mg OTC kg(-1) crab weight. Acute toxicity experiments demonstrated that the 24 and 48 h median lethal dosages (LD(50)) of OTC for this species of crab were 366 and 340 mg OTC kg(-1) crab body weight, respectively, while the safe concentration was 82.5 mg OTC kg(-1) crab weight. We suggest that OTC has potential as a highly effective inhibitor of Spiroplasma pathogens in aquatic animals and has been proven to be a potent, safe and low cost cure for TD. This represents a novel use of OTC in the therapeutic treatment of an aquacultural disease caused by a Spiroplasma pathogen.

• 出版日期2009-4-27
• 单位南京师范大学