Abstract
BackgroundPorcine pleuropneumonia, caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, is a bacterial respiratory disease of swine. Acute outbreaks of the disease are often accompanied by high mortality and economic losses. As severe cases of the disease frequently require parenteral antibiotic treatment of the animals, the efficacy of a single, high dose of marbofloxacin was compared to a three-time application of a dose of enrofloxacin under experimental conditions.MethodsA blinded, controlled, randomized and blocked dose confirmation study was conducted to test the efficacy and safety of a single dose of 8 mg/kg marbofloxacin (160 mg/ml, Forcyl® Swine, Vetoquinol SA, France) to treat acute porcine pleuropneumonia after experimental aerosol inoculation of pigs with A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 2. The results were compared to a three consecutive day treatment of 2.5 mg/kg enrofloxacin and a mock (saline) treatment. Criteria for the assessment of efficacy were severity of lung lesions, bacteriological cure and the course of clinical disease after treatment.Results:Thirty six nursery pigs were divided into three treatment groups: marbofloxacin (T1), enrofloxacin (T2) and mock (T3). Statistically significant superiority (p < 0.05) of marbofloxacin and enrofloxacin compared to the mock-treated group was demonstrated for all efficacy criteria. The need of rescue euthanasia due to severity of symptoms was significantly reduced in both treatment groups (T1: 1 pig; T2: 0 pigs; vs. T3: 8 pigs). On day 6 after treatment initiation, clinical cure was observed in 10 (T1), 10 (T2) but only 1 of the piglets in T3. Extent of lung lesions (mean of lung lesion score T1: 3.9, T2: 6.0, T3: 21.1) and bacteriological isolation from lung tissue (on day 6 after treatment initiation: T1 = 0 pigs; T2 = 1 pig; T3 = all pigs) were also significantly reduced within both treatment groups. There were no adverse events linked to the drug administration and no injection site reactions were observed.ConclusionsBoth applied antimicrobial treatments were proven safe and efficacious for the treatment of acute porcine pleuropneumonia. No statistically significant differences were detected between the antibiotic treatments.
Highlights
Porcine pleuropneumonia, caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, is a bacterial respiratory disease of swine
The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a one-shot 8 mg/kg marbofloxacin treatment on the development of clinical signs, lung lesions and colonisation of the lungs of piglets inoculated with A. pleuropneumoniae, in comparison to a mock and to a standard 3-day enrofloxacin treatment protocol to obtain marketing authorization approval for a product containing marbofloxacin
One pig stayed clinically healthy without any signs of disease and another one met the criteria for euthanasia prior to treatment
Summary
Porcine pleuropneumonia, caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, is a bacterial respiratory disease of swine. Acute outbreaks of the disease are often accompanied by high mortality and economic losses. As severe cases of the disease frequently require parenteral antibiotic treatment of the animals, the efficacy of a single, high dose of marbofloxacin was compared to a three-time application of a dose of enrofloxacin under experimental conditions. Porcine pleuropneumonia is a respiratory disease caused by the gram-negative bacterium Actinobacillus (A.) pleuropneumoniae. This germ is distributed worldwide and is considered obligate pathogenic and can cause severe respiratory disease without additional co-infections [1,2,3]. Acute outbreaks of the disease have a major impact on animal welfare as well as on profitability of the pig farms. Carcass trimming and condemnation as well as costs due to animal losses in cases of high mortality, treatment, reduced daily weight gain and a prolonged fattening period lead to high direct as well as indirect economic losses [10,11,12]
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