Detection of antibacterial agents in warm water prawns

Samples of cooked and raw prawns intended for human consumption were collected by officers at Southampton Port Health Authority, and tested for the presence of antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial activity was detected in 23 out of 98 cooked prawn samples but in none of the 20 raw samples collected. Samples that showed antimicrobial activity were analysed using high performance liquid chromatography and immunoassay, resulting in the presumptive identification of trimethoprim in 15 samples, and low levels of gentamicin in three samples. Prawns in which trimethoprim was putatively detected contained bacteria with significantly greater resistance to this antibiotic than samples in which no trimethoprim was found. This suggests that the presence of antibiotics in prawn samples may be correlated with increased resistance to these drugs in the associated microflora. There are currently no guidelines regarding acceptable levels of antibiotics in seafood products. These results indicate that the use of these drugs by prawn farmers may be widespread, and may be an issue that requires further attention in the future.