Use of antibiotics at sub-therapeutic levels revolutionized agriculture for the last 65 years. Though originally introduced to treat disease, the beneficial effects of antibiotics delivered in-feed (or water) on performance, including rate of gain and feed efficiency, became important drivers for their expanded use in livestock, including pigs (Dibner and Richards, 2005). Additional value was attached to these performance benefits later when use of feed-grade antibiotics was also shown to reduce wasted nutrients, overall farm waste, and farm labor requirements.
However, as consumers became more informed about the quality of food products reaching their table, there was been an increased level of interest in antibiotic use in agriculture and its potential secondary effects on human health as it pertains to antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance. In 2017, investigations into this area led the FDA to implement new new regulations that eliminated over-the-counter status for in-feed antibiotics that are medically important in human medicine, and required additional veterinary oversight for on-farm applications by requiring a Veterinary Feed Directive or in-feed or in-water applications of those antibiotics. Since it’s implementation in January, 2017, sales of medically important antibiotics approved for use in livestock has declined by 43 percent from peak use in 2015.
Description
Antibiotics and medications are critical to treat, control, and prevent disease in swine. Without the responsible and timely use of antibiotics, sickness can spread rapidly on a farm, endangering the health and welfare of animals and the safety of our food. While pig farmers work closely with veterinarians to ensure that their pigs stay healthy, at times pigs need medical attention requiring the use of antibiotics to treat illness.
When farmers use antibiotics as prescribed by a veterinarian, pigs tend to give birth to healthier litters, get sick less often and recover faster, and suffer less premature death due to illness. Combining the responsible use of antibiotics along with strict biosecurity measures is very effective in maintaining pig health and maximizing production and profits. Pipevet.Com carries the majority of prescription and non-prescription antibiotics for swine use. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us for answers.
Features of Over The Counter Antibiotics For Pigs
Antimicrobials are mainly used in the production of swine, cattle, and poultry and, recently, in aquaculture and crop production The antibiotics used in livestock fall into all the major classes of antibiotics used in clinical practice; there have even been cases in which antimicrobials were licensed for livestock use before their subsequent use in humans The use of antimicrobials in livestock and the husbandry practices of the farmers have been implicated as a cause of antibiotic resistance
Pig farmers use antibiotics for treatment, metaphylaxis, prophylaxis, and growth promotion in their farm animals The relatively larger farm animal populations consume more than half the antibiotics produced globally Diseases among pigs tend to reduce productivity by reducing feed conversion efficiency, slowing growth rate, and increasing mortalities. To safeguard their investments, farmers use sublethal doses of antibiotics to prevent diseases and promote growth To reduce the volume of antibiotics used in veterinary medicine and curtail the selection of resistant bacteria, scientists and the WHO have suggested improved hygiene-based husbandry methods, veterinary supervision, and antibiotic dispensing under prescriptions only to policy makers and governments.
Prices of Over The Counter Antibiotics For Pigs
$26.28 – $322.02