This study aimed to review the transmission routes of important infectious pig diseases and to translate these into biosecurity measures preventing or reducing the transmission between and within pig herds. Furthermore, it aimed to identify the level of implementation of these measures in different European countries and discuss the observed variations to identify potentials for improvement. First, a literature review was performed to show which direct and indirect transmission routes of 24 infectious pig diseases can be prevented through different biosecurity measures. Second, a quantitative analysis was performed using the Biocheck.UGent™, a risk-based scoring system to evaluate biosecurity in pig herds, to obtain an insight into the implementation of these biosecurity measures. The database contained farm-specific biosecurity data from 574 pig farms in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, entered between January 2014 and January 2016. Third, a qualitative analysis based on a review of literature and other relevant information resources was performed for every subcategory of internal and external biosecurity in the Biocheck.UGent™ questionnaire. The quantitative analysis indicated that at the level of internal, external and overall biosecurity, Denmark had a significantly distinct profile with higher external biosecurity scores and less variation than the rest of the countries. This is likely due to a widely used specific pathogen-free (SPF) system with extensive focus on biosecurity since 1971 in Denmark. However, the observed pattern may also be attributed to differences in data collection methods. The qualitative analysis identified differences in applied policies, legislation, disease status, pig farm density, farming culture and habits between countries that can be used for shaping country-specific biosecurity advice to attain improved prevention and control of important pig diseases in European pig farms.
BackgroundThere is growing concern about development of antimicrobial resistance due to use of antimicrobials (AMs) in livestock production. Identifying efficient alternatives, including vaccination, is a priority. The objective of this study was to compare the herd-level amount of AMs prescribed for weaner pigs, between Danish sow herds using varying combinations of vaccines against Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MYC) and Lawsonia intracellularis (LAW). It was hypothesised that herds purchasing vaccines, use these to prevent disease, and hence reduce their AM consumption, compared to herds purchasing fewer or no vaccines against these pathogens.Data summarised over year 2013 were obtained from the Danish Central Husbandry Register and the Danish VetStat database, in which prescriptions of medication are recorded. All one-site indoor pig herds with >50 sows and >200 weaners were selected. AMs prescribed for weaners was measured in animal daily doses (ADD) and divided according to three indication groups (gastro-intestinal, respiratory indication or total use). The analysis was based on three multivariable linear regression models of the herd-level ADD for each indication group. The eight vaccination combinations (2x2x2) were included as one explanatory variable, and herd size, measured as the number of weaner pen places was included in the models as a potential confounder.ResultsOut of the 1513 herds in the study, 1415 had AMs prescribed for gastro-intestinal disorders, and 836 for respiratory disorders. PCV2 vaccines were purchased in 880 herds, MYC vaccines in 787 and LAW vaccines in 115 herds. Herds purchasing PCV2 and MYC vaccines had significantly more AMs prescribed than herds not purchasing vaccines or only purchasing LAW vaccines.ConclusionIn the present study, using register data covering 1 year, we found an association between use of vaccination and increased amount of AMs prescribed for weaners. This does not exclude that the vaccines work, just that we were unable to detect this. The findings might be explained by some herds experiencing clinical problems associated with MYC or PCV2 despite use of vaccination. In other herds, it might reflect that vaccines applied to weaners are used for disease prevention in finishers rather than in the weaners. Information about vaccination protocols and herd health status was not available at the time of the study. Hence, further studies are required to investigate causality of the associations between use of AMs, vaccination practices and other confounding on-farm factors.
It is often stated that vaccines may help reduce antimicrobial use in swine production. However, limited evidence is available outside clinical trials. We studied the change in amounts of antimicrobials prescribed for weaners and finishers in herds following initiation of vaccination against five common endemic infections: Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, porcine circovirus type II, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, and Lawsonia intracellularis. Comparison was made to the change after a randomly selected date in herds not vaccinating against each of the infections. Danish sow herds initiating vaccination during 2007–2013 were included (69–334 herds, depending on the analysis). Danish sow herds with no use of the vaccine in question were included as non-exposed herds (130–570 herds, depending on the analysis). Antimicrobial prescriptions for weaners in sow herds and for finishers in receiving herds were extracted from the VetStat database for a period of 12 months before and 6–18 months after the first purchase of vaccine, or random date and quantified as average animal daily doses (ADDs) per 100 animals per day. The herd-level difference between ADD in the period after and before vaccination was the outcome in linear regression models for weaner pigs, and linear mixed-effects models for finishing pigs, taking into account sow herds delivering pigs to two or more finisher herds. Three plausible risk factors (Baseline ADD, purchase of specific vaccine, purchase of other vaccines) and five confounders (herd size, export and herd health status, year and season) were initially considered in all 10 models. The main significant effect in all models was the Baseline ADD; the higher the Baseline ADD was for weaner and finishing pigs, the larger the decrease in ADD was following vaccination (or random date for non-vaccinating herds). Regardless of vaccination status, almost equal proportions of herds experienced a decrease and an increase in ADD resulting in no overall Change in ADD. Furthermore, only minor effects were found, when vaccinations were used in combination. In conclusion, this study provided little support for the hypothesis that vaccination against five common endemic diseases provides a plausible general strategy to reduce antimicrobial use in Danish pig herds.
Background
Antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock is a debated topic, mainly due to the risk of associated development of antimicrobial resistance. There is focus on reducing AMU in the Danish pig production, which accounts for the largest proportion of AMU for animals in Denmark. Due to special restriction on AMU in organic pig production, the AMU in organic pig production is lower than in conventional pig production. There is concern that reduced AMU could jeopardize animal health and welfare, if it reflects insufficient treatment of sick animals, which might be reflected by the prevalence and types of lesions found at meat inspection. However, little is known about the associations between AMU and meat inspection findings in pigs from organic farms. Furthermore, excess amount of antimicrobial product after a treatment cannot be re-prescribed in organic pig herds. The initial prescription is recorded in the national database VetStat, but the unused amount is not deducted leading to uncertainty when reporting AMU. The objectives of this study were to 1) describe AMU patterns based on prescription data for organic pig production and compare with those of the conventional pig production for year 2016, 2) study the associations between herd-level AMU prescription data and meat inspection data for organic pig herds and 3) validate herd-level AMU prescription data in VetStat against treatment records collected on-farm in organic Danish pig herds.
Results and conclusions
Gastrointestinal indications account for the largest proportion of AMU in both organic pig herds (65 and 54% of treatment doses for weaners and finishers, respectively) and conventional pig herds (80 and 68% of doses for weaners and finishers, respectively). A larger proportion is prescribed for respiratory indications in organic than conventional weaners and arthropathic indications in finishers. No associations between AMU and meat inspection data were found. This needs further investigation as the prevalence of lesions at slaughter was slightly (non-significantly) higher in herds with no registered AMU than with AMU prescriptions. Only 8 out of 31 herds had recorded their AMU sufficiently detailed to compare, and using VetStat as a proxy for AMU led to 9–88% overestimation of the actual use in 7 out of these 8 herds and 120% underestimation in one herd.
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