Aquatic animal health management remains a major challenge in aquaculture, largely due to the continued reliance on traditional approaches such as antibiotics, which contribute to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in the environment. Vaccination has emerged as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative for disease prevention and health improvement in aquatic species. However, research trends in vaccine-based disease prevention in aquaculture have not been comprehensively mapped or systematically analysed. This study applies bibliometric analysis as a systematic and quantitative approach to evaluate the scientific landscape of vaccine research in aquaculture, using tools such as VOSviewer. Bibliographic coupling analysis identified seven major thematic clusters: Cluster 1 focuses on vaccine research in bacterial disease prevention; Cluster 2 addresses vaccination in rainbow trout farming; Cluster 3 explores vaccination strategies, mechanisms, and limitations; Cluster 4 concentrates on vaccine research in key aquaculture species in China; Cluster 5 highlights vaccine development for viral diseases in economically important freshwater species; Cluster 6 examines viral vaccination in carp species; and Cluster 7 focuses on DNA vaccine development for viral disease control in aquaculture. In addition, co-word analysis revealed four principal clusters: experimental vaccine models, bacterial vaccines, vaccination strategies in aquaculture, and viral vaccines. Publication data from the Scopus database indicate a steady increase in research output over the past 15 years, reflecting a growing emphasis on vaccines as a core strategy for disease management in aquaculture. Overall, this bibliometric analysis underscores the critical role of vaccines and identifies key research directions to support the development of sustainable aquaculture systems.
Wei et al. (Wed,) studied this question.