Abstract
Data on antimicrobial use (AMU) in heavy pig production (>150 kg) are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the AMU in this production. Data from 2015 were collected for 143 fattening farms. The AMU was estimated through a treatment index per 100 days (TI100) using the defined daily dose animal for Italy (DDDAit). When possible, a comparison with the European Medicines Agency’s defined daily doses for animals (DDDvet) was performed. The median TI100 was 10.7 (range, 0.2–49.5). Group treatments represented 94.6% of overall consumption. The AMU calculated using DDDAit and DDDvet were strongly correlated (ρ = 0.976; p < 0.001). The AMU was negatively correlated with injectables use (ρ = −0.46, p < 0.001) and positively correlated with oral products (ρ = 0.21, p = 0.014), premixes (ρ = 0.26, p = 0.002), and mortality (ρ = 0.18; p = 0.027). Farm size was negatively correlated with AMU (ρ = −0.29, p < 0.001). Smaller farms were more frequently above the median TI100 (odds ratio = 2.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.2–4.7), suggesting that they may have lower biosecurity and management standards. The results of this study should provide useful insights for the development of an Italian monitoring system.
Highlights
Antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock represents an important risk for the selection and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) [1,2], which can severely impair the effectiveness of antimicrobials for human and veterinary medicine
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were identified in more than 35% of pig nasal swabs collected at an Italian slaughterhouse [8], and according to a recent Italian study, the mcr-1 gene may be common in pathogenic E. coli in Italian pigs [9]
highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIAs) were used in 93.7% of the 143 farms, representing 16.8% of the total AMU, and the use was distributed as follows: macrolides 8.8%, polymyxins 5.3%, quinolones 2.6%, and third and fourth generation cephalosporins 0.1%
Summary
Antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock represents an important risk for the selection and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) [1,2], which can severely impair the effectiveness of antimicrobials for human and veterinary medicine. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the first report on critically important antimicrobials for human medicine [3], which now is at its sixth revision [4], and provided guidance regarding prioritization in preserving the efficacy of antimicrobial classes, the highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIAs) Is both an important livestock producer, and in terms of annual sales, one of the highest consumers of antimicrobials in animals within the European Economic Area (EEA) [5]. The information on AMU in heavy pig production is still limited The availability of those data at the farm level represents an important step toward the development of an adequate antimicrobial stewardship program [21]
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