Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the aquaponics industry by reviewing published manuscripts to better understand the zoonotic risks in this type of system and to determine areas of which still need to be investigated.
Methods: Search engines, for example PubMed and Web of Science, were used to compile the already published studies that have investigated the potential zoonotic risks in aquaculture systems. Key words to find these publications were, “aquaponics,” “Salmonella,” “Escherichia coli O157:H7,” “Escherichia coli,” “fish microbiota,” “enteric commensal bacteria,” and “zoonotic pathogens.”
Results: Due to aquaponic’s increasing popularity, food safety and proper harvesting procedures have only recently begun to be addressed for aquaponic producers. Levels of fecal coliforms and pathogenic bacteria, if present in aquaculture systems or fish, most likely originate from warm-blooded animals. It has been shown that fish intestinal flora and the survival rate of zoonotic pathogens can be related to the level of contamination of the water and/or food in their environment. Individuals who come in contact with fish or fish environments could be at risk for zoonotic infections with the possibility of antibiotic resistant.
Significance: Knowledge resulting from this investigative search suggests the areas of research that still need to be studied, especially with regards to experimental pathogen survival in aquaponic systems, including the potential for pathogen transfer from fish effluent to edible plant parts via root uptake or cross-contamination.