Reducing antimicrobial use and ZnO consumption on farms
Replacing antibiotics and ZnO requires a comprehensive approach. Studies show that early vaccination against Oedema disease is a successful tool for reducing mass medication with colistin and ZnO on farms.
BY D. SPERLING, DVM, PHD – SWINE CORPORATE TECHNICAL MANAGER, CEVA SANTE ANIMALE
O
edema disease (OD) is one of the major diseases in pigs during nursery causing significant losses on affected farms. It is caused by strains of E. coli producing Shiga toxin (STEC), specifically Shiga
toxin 2 subtype e (Stx2e). These strains are mostly equipped with fimbrial adhesins F18ab. The susceptibility of pigs to OD often increased shortly after weaning, when specific receptors (sensitive to attachment by F18 adhesin) are developed and present on the surface of enterocytes. Clinical OD develops as a characteristic toxaemia with typical manifestation including swelling of the eyelids and the ridge of the nose. Several inner organs can show edema like the colon or the brain. Staggering gait followed by paralysis, lying on the side with paddling limbs, together with other symptoms of neural affection, result into the death of affected animals. The correct OD diagnosis needs to consider differential diagnosis (S. suis and G. parasuis infections mainly). Vaccination with products based on specific toxoid Shiga toxin has been shown to be the most successful method preventing clinical OD and significant mortality reduction. Vaccination can be a very effective tool for reducing the need for antibiotic and ZnO medication as well.
Effect of vaccination on antibiotics consumption Targeted vaccination can decrease the use of antibiotics (ATB)
Table 1- Defined daily dose per animal per month in two consecutive periods: before and after implementation of vaccination against OD.
Year 2012 2013
Mean DDD animal/month Std dev 1.050 0.215
0.479 0.217
n= number of months recorded, Fricke et al., 2015 64 ▶ ANTIBIOTIC REDUCTION | DECEMBER 2021 N
12 12
P-Value <0.001
and zinc oxide (ZnO) on farms with enzootic OD. Usually, OD- affected farms are implementing mass ATB medication via medicated feed or drinking water and long-term use of pharmaceutical levels of ZnO, immediately post weaning, due to the intermittent outbreaks of clinical disease and high mortality. On the other side, the effectiveness of individual, parenteral ATB treatment is rather low, once the clinical symptoms of OD have developed. Such an approach (frequent use of ATB and ZnO) can lead to antibiotic resistance in bacteria on affected farms. There are several studies showing the effect of vaccination against OD in early age of the animals (4 days of age) on reducing ATB treatment. The characteristic and frequent use of zinc oxide and colistin sulphate, which is now considered as an ATB with restricted use, was significantly reduced in pigs by vaccination against OD, when compared to a former period without vaccination (Figure 1). A significant reduction of colistin consumption, measured as mean defined daily dose animal/month, was described after implementation of vaccination in a study carried out on a Dutch farm, monitoring consumption for the period of one year (Table 1). Vaccination is also particularly timely, given current/ impending restrictions on the prophylactic use of antibiotics in feed and therapeutic levels of ZnO, in order to control infections during the post weaning period, especially in the
Figure 1 - On average in 179 farms, the use of colistin was reduced by 60% and the use of Colistin/Zinc oxide combination by 64% after introduction the vaccination against the Shigatoxin/ Oedema Disease.
100 80 –60 % 60 40 20 Vaccine group 0 Colistin (Lillie-Jaschinski et al., 2013) Colistin/Zinc oxide –64 %
Consumption %
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