Use of antibiotics in white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei Boone, 1931) farming in sandy land of Thua Thien Hue province

Abstract

96,5% of the survey households use antibiotics to treat acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease and white feces syndromes on white leg shrimp. The results show that 68.8% of the households apply antibiotics to treat shrimp diseases every seven days and use oxytetracycline to prevent shrimp diseases every 3–5 days. For most antibiotics, the treatment dose is 5–10 grams per kilogram of feed. For oxytetracycline only, the dosage used for the medicated bath is 1 ppm and for treatment is 2–3 grams per kilogram of feed. 68.4% of households use high-dose antibiotics, and 15.8% apply low-dose antibiotics compared with the product's recommendation. 85.5% of households use more than one antibiotic in one treatment, of which oxytetracycline is widely used. The effectiveness of antibiotics is considered average, with the highest being 45.7%. The discontinuation of antibiotics before harvest under the recommendation is practised by 52.2% of the farmers. The use of oxytetracycline and ciprofloxacin in disease prevention and shrimp culture and improper use of antibiotics should be carefully addressed.