title: Use of oxytetracycline for the treatment of tremor disease in the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis.
abstract: 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 (LD50) 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.
authors: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity & Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors: Tingming
authors: T
authors: Liang
authors: Qi
authors: Q
authors: Feng
authors: Ting
authors: T
authors: Wu
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Gu
authors: Wen
authors: W
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017756:Aquaculture; D003386:Brachyura / Q000382:microbiology*; D010118:Oxytetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013149:Spiroplasma / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010118:Oxytetracycline