Effectiveness of a single intramuscular dose of ceftiofur hydrochloride for the treatment of naturally occurring bacterial swine respiratory disease

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of ceftiofur hydrochloride (HCl) administered once at 5.0 mg ceftiofur equivalents (CE) per kg bodyweight (BW) for treatment of naturally occurring bacterial swine respiratory disease (SRD). Methods: Pigs (3.6 to 24.5 kg) in eight commercial herds were enrolled in the study. Pigs that exhibited clinical signs of SRD were randomly assigned to receive one intramuscular (IM) injection of either ceftiofur HCl at 5.0 mg CE per kg BW (141 pigs) or placebo (137 pigs) on Day 0. Necropsies were performed and lung lesions scored by a veterinarian on pigs that died and on all surviving pigs on Day 14. Microbiological identification of bacterial organisms was performed on the lungs of all pigs. Results: Mortality rate was lower (P<.05) for the ceftiofur-treated pigs (2.1%) than for the placebo-treated pigs (7.3%). Rate of clinical cure (defined prior to the study), lung lesion scores, and percentage of pigs that gained at least 2.5 kg in the 14 days after enrollment did not differ for ceftiofur-treated and placebo-treated pigs. Body temperatures for ceftiofur-treated pigs were lower than for placebo-treated pigs on Days 1 and 3. Implications: A single IM injection of ceftiofur HCl at 5.0 mg CE per kg BW reduced mortality and body temperature (Days 1 and 3 after injection) for pigs with SRD associated with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Haemophilus parasuis, Pasteurella multocida, and Streptococcus suis. To effectively treat pigs for SRD, the standard, 3-day, full course therapy of ceftiofur HCl is recommended.