(to see presentation)

Vaccination and immunostimulation are gradually employed as main strategies for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in Mediterranean fish farming.   However their potential is still under-exploited, leaving chemotherapy and zoo-sanitary measures as the dominant and often insufficient means of disease control.  Long and costly licensing procedures currently limit the availability of these products in many national and regional market segments. Immersion is currently employed, as primary vaccination while immersion, oral and ip injection are the methods for booster vaccine application for the prevention of bacterial diseases. Development of disease control strategies along with producer education in order to improve vaccine implementation is being advocatedand should be the focus of future research. Customisation of vaccination strategies on the epidemiology of fish diseases should be encouraged based on product and vaccination strategy diversity. There is a strong need for development of new and effective vaccines for flexibacteriosis as welll as someparasitic and viral diseases. Immunostimulation with products from various sources may stimulate and upregulate innate immune mechanisms and result in improved survival of fish when exposed to parasitic, bacterial and viral pathogens. Focused research on the immune mechanisms involved in this protection should be initiated. Basic epidemiological information obtained from disease surveillance and monitoring is necessary for an effective fish health control. Research on the economics of fish diseases and their prevention and control strategies should be initiated.

Dr. Panos Christofilogiannis is educated as a Veterinarian, Fish Biologist (MSc) and Fish Pathologist (MSc, PhD) and has worked with Mediterranean fish diseases since 1994, focusing mainly on disease prevention and control as well as Quality Assurance schemes. He did his Ph.D (FGM sponsorship) on antibiotic resistance and pharmacokinetics in sea bass and sea bream. Panos Christofilogiannis is General manager of AQUARK, has organized two world conferences on Fish Pathology (1999) and Fish Nutrition (2001), he is FEAP nominated expert on Mediterranean Aquaculture in FEAP Fish Health Working Group in DG SANCO, Coordinator of the FGM Advisory Committee and Fish Health and Quality Assurance Consultant for various companies in different projects in the Mediterranean.

Contact details:  AQUARK Aquaculture Consultants, 143 Papagou Avenue 15773 Zografou Athens Greece.
Tel / Fax: +30 2107470147,Mobile: +30 6944 418566  E-mail: panosvet@otenet.gr