Aquaculture Health Management and Parasite Control

Aquaculture health management integrates disease surveillance, biosecurity measures and therapeutic interventions to safeguard farmed aquatic organisms against parasitic threats. Parasites ranging from protozoans and monogeneans to helminths and crustacean ectoparasites can compromise growth, induce mortality and reduce product quality. Effective management demands an understanding of parasite life cycles, host–pathogen interactions and environmental drivers such as water quality, stocking density and temperature. Surveillance programmes combine routine health assessments, histopathology and immunological assays to detect early signs of infection. Preventive strategies include optimised nutrition, immunostimulant supplementation and husbandry improvements to bolster host resistance. When outbreaks occur, targeted chemotherapeutants, biological control and integrated pest management are employed, with an emphasis on minimising residues and resistance. Recent advances in vaccine development, rapid diagnostic tools and precision farming technologies promise to enhance the sustainability and profitability of aquaculture. Globally, improved parasite control contributes to food security, trade facilitation and the reduction of chemical inputs in aquatic ecosystems.

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Aquaculture Health Management and Parasite Control publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in aquaculture health management and parasite control across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Ectoparasite: A parasite that lives on the external surface of the host, such as gill-attached monogeneans or crustacean copepods.

Endoparasite: A parasite that inhabits internal organs or tissues of the host, including cestodes and acanthocephalans.

Haematological parameters: Blood indices such as erythrocyte count, haematocrit and leukocyte profiles used to assess fish health and stress.

Relative condition factor: A dimensionless index relating observed fish weight to expected weight for a given length, indicating energy reserves and overall well-being.

Oxidative burst: A rapid release of reactive oxygen species by phagocytes as a component of the innate immune response against invading pathogens.

References

1. Effect of dietary supplementation with propolis and Aloe barbadensis extracts on hematological parameters and parasitism in Nile tilapia. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária (2015).
2. Parasitic infections in tambaqui from eight fish farms in Northern Brazil. Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (2015).
3. Changes in hematological and biochemical parameters of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum ) parasitized by metazoan species. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária (2018).