An antimicrobial weapon against respiratory illness in feedlot cattle can now also be used against pneumonias in hogs and non-lactating dairy cattle.
Bayer HealthCare's Canadian animal health division announced Wednesday it's picked up approvals to sell its injectable enrofloxacin solution, Baytril 100, to treat swine respiratory disease (SRD) in hogs, and to treat bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in non-lactating dairy cattle under 20 months of age.
"Left untreated, respiratory disease in pigs causes lung damage and increases mortality, impacting the bottom line," Dr. Bruce Kilmer, director of technical services and regulatory affairs for Bayer HealthCare's animal health arm, said in a release.
Researchers, he said, have found SRD can increase hog feed costs by adding up to six additional days to market. Pneumonia can also reduce pig growth rates by as much as eight per cent, the company added.
Similarly, he said in a separate release, the long-term costs of BRD in dairy replacements include decreased growth, delayed age to first calving, premature culling from the herd and, as a result, reduced profitability.
Left untreated, he said, BRD "impedes growth and increases morbidity" -- and lately, the cost of replacing dairy heifers in Canada is estimated at $2,200 each.
The product has been available to veterinarians since 2004 to treat recurring respiratory disease in "high-risk" feedlot cattle, the company said.
In hogs, Baytril 100 is administered as a single-dose therapy and "should not be used as a mass medication." For non-lactating dairy cattle, it can be administered as a single-dose therapy or as a multiple-day therapy, but again shouldn't be used as an en-masse medication, the company said. In all cases, it should be used "after first choice treatment has failed."
In hogs, Bayer said, Baytril's bactericidal effects work against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida and Haemophilus parasuis, the "major culprits" in swine SRD.
In young cattle, Bayer added, Baytril 100 kills Pasteurella multocida and Mannheimia haemolytica, the chief causes of BRD.
The product is "concentration-dependent, not time-dependent," and can deliver therapeutic drug concentrations to lung tissues within two hours of a subcutaneous (sub-Q) dose in young cattle as well as hogs, the company said.
Treated cattle must not be slaughtered for use in food for at least 36 days after the last Baytril treatment; for swine, the waiting period is eight days. The product is not cleared for use in female dairy cattle over 20 months of age or older, nor for use in veal calves.
Available only for veterinary use, the product is now sold by the 250-millilitre bottle but will be available in 100-mL containers starting next month, the company said.
Related stories:
BRD antibiotic approved for beef cattle,
July 3, 2012
New BRD treatment launched for lactating dairy cows, June 1, 2011
Respiratory antibiotic label expanded to "at-risk" hogs,
Oct. 18, 2010
