{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02935290193462308, 'fraction_numerical': 0.013675783855903937, 'mean_word_length': 5.313684210526316, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 1, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 1, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Standard protocols for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Vibrionaceae isolated from aquatic animals

A review of the relevant literature has shown that it is safe to recommend that the antimicrobial susceptibility of the species of the Vibrionaceae most commonly isolated from aquatic animals can be established using internationally standardised protocols that specify the use of Mueller-Hinton media that has not been supplemented with additional NaCl. * Corresponding author’s e-mail: peter.smith@nuigalway.ie Introduction The OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code (http:// www.oie.int/en/international-standard-setting/ aquatic-code/access-online/) recommends that, if the data produced in programmes for monitoring and surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility are to be comparable, it is essential that standardised and internationally harmonised susceptibility test protocols be used to the greatest extent possible (Smith et al., 2013). The CLSI has published guidelines for the antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacteria isolated from aquatic animals (CLSI, 2006; CLSI, 2014a). With respect to the testing of the Vibrionaceae these guidelines recommend that, for those that are facultative halophiles, disc diffusion tests can be performed using Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA) and MIC tests can be performed using cation adjusted Mueller-Hinton broth (CAMHB). For those Vibrio spp. that are obligate halophiles CLSI suggest that susceptibility tests should be performed on MHA or in CAMBB modified by the addition of 1% NaCl. Quality control criteria are an essential component of any CLSI standardised testing protocol. The acceptable ranges of results for reference strains, which provide these criteria, have been developed for test protocols that specify the use of unmodified MHA and CAMHB and incubations at 35°C (CLSI, 2017), and at 28°C and 22°C (CLSI, 2014b). The acceptable ranges for tests using NaCl supplemented media have not yet been established. As the addition of NaCl has been shown to affect the data generated from susceptibility tests (Douglas et al., 2006) the acceptable ranges established for protocols using Bull. Eur. Ass. Fish Pathol., 38(4) 2018, 161 unmodified Mueller-Hinton media cannot be treated as applicable to data generated using these media supplemented with NaCl. Thus, at present, standardised susceptibility testing protocols exist for Vibrio species that can be treated as facultative halophiles but not for those species that are obligate halophiles. It should be noted that Mueller-Hinton is not a defined medium and may contain some NaCl derived from the beef or casein used in its preparation. Therefore, in this paper, a species is categorised as a functional facultative halophile if its susceptibility can be adequately determined using unmodified MHA or CAMHB. If the susceptibility of a species can be tested only if these media are supplemented with additional NaCl that species must be categorised as a functional obligate halophile.