An Overview of Fish Disease Diagnosis and Treatment in Aquaculture in Bangladesh
Md. Naim Mahmud, A. Ansary, Farzana Yasmin Ritu, Neaz A. Hasan, Mohammad Mahfujul Haque
Abstract
Aquaculture has rapidly become a vital sector for ensuring global food security by meeting the growing demand for animal protein. Bangladesh, one of the world’s leading aquaculture producers, recorded a production of 4.91 million MT in 2022–2023, largely driven by inland farming systems. Despite this remarkable growth, the sector is highly vulnerable to disease outbreaks, which are aggravated by different factors. Pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites cause significant losses, while conventional disease diagnosis in Bangladesh still depends mainly on visual assessment and basic laboratory techniques, limiting early detection. This narrative review highlights recent advances in diagnostics as molecular tools, immunodiagnostics, nanodiagnostics, machine learning, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) that are widely applied globally but remain limited in Bangladesh due to infrastructure gaps, lack of skilled manpower, and resource constraints. Current treatment strategies largely rely on antibiotics and aquaculture medicinal products (AMPs), often misused without proper diagnosis, contributing to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Promising alternatives, including probiotics, immunostimulants, vaccines, and enhanced biosecurity, require greater adoption and farmer awareness. The near-term priorities for Bangladesh include standardized disease and AMR surveillance, prudent antibiotic stewardship, phased adoption of validated rapid diagnostics, and investment in diagnostic and human capacity. Policy-level actions, including a national aquatic animal health strategy, stricter antimicrobial regulation, strengthening diagnostic infrastructure in institution, are crucial to achieve sustainable disease management and ensure long-term resilience of aquaculture in Bangladesh.