Effect of tetracycline dose and treatment mode on selection of resistant coliform bacteria in nursery pigs

Kaare Græsbøll, Peter Damborg, Anders Mellerup, Ana Herrero-Fresno, Inge Larsen, Anders Holm, Jens Peter Nielsen, Lasse Engbo Christiansen, Øystein Angen, Shahana Ahmed, Anders Folkesson, John Elmerdahl Olsen*

*Corresponding author for this work
    12 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This study describes the results of a randomized clinical trial investigating the effect of oxytetracycline treatment dose and mode of administration on the selection of antibiotic-resistant coliform bacteria in fecal samples from nursery pigs. Nursery pigs (pigs of 4 to 7 weeks of age) in five pig herds were treated with oxytetracycline for Lawsonia intracellularis-induced diarrhea. Each group was randomly allocated to one of five treatment groups: oral flock treatment with a (i) high (20 mg/kg of body weight), (ii) medium (10 mg/kg), or (iii) low (5 mg/kg) dose, (iv) oral pen-wise (small-group) treatment (10 mg/kg), and (v) individual intramuscular injection treatment (10 mg/kg). All groups were treated once a day for 5 days. In all groups, treatment caused a rise in the numbers and proportions of tetracyclineresistant coliform bacteria right after treatment, followed by a significant drop by the time that the pigs left the nursery unit. The counts and proportions of tetracyclineresistant coliforms did not vary significantly between treatment groups, except immediately after treatment, when the highest treatment dose resulted in the highest number of resistant coliforms. A control group treated with tiamulin did not show significant changes in the numbers or proportions of tetracycline-resistant coliforms. Selection for tetracycline-resistant coliforms was significantly correlated to selection for ampicillin- and sulfonamide-resistant strains but not to selection for cefotaximeresistant strains. In conclusion, the difference in the dose of oxytetracycline and the way in which the drug was applied did not cause significantly different levels of selection of tetracycline-resistant coliform bacteria under the conditions tested.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article numbere00538-17
    JournalApplied and Environmental Microbiology
    Volume83
    Issue number12
    Number of pages12
    ISSN0099-2240
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017

    Keywords

    • Dose
    • Flock treatment
    • Nursery pigs
    • Tetracyclines

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