A Comparative Study of the Preventive Use of Tilmicosin Phosphate (Pulmotil premix^®) andMycoplasma hyopneumoniaeVaccination in a Pig Herd with Chronic Respiratory Disease

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the effects of a preventive in-feed medication programme using tilmicosin (Pulmotil 200 premix, Elanco Animal Health) at 200 p.p.m. with those of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mh) vaccination programme (Stellamune Mycoplasma, Pfizer Animal Health). A pig herd with chronic respiratory disease in which infection with Mh played an important role was selected, and a total of 204 piglets were randomly allocated to either the medication (P) or the vaccination (V) group. Pigs in the P group received medicated feed for 3 weeks after weaning (days 34-55), and for 2 weeks late in the nursery period (days 77-98). The piglets in the V group were vaccinated twice intramuscularly, at 4 and 22 days of age. The two groups were compared on the basis of average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion rate (FCR), additional curative medication days (CMD), overall mortality (major variables), a coughing index, pneumonia lesions, and serology against Mh, influenza H1N1 and influenza H3N2 viruses, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) and porcine reproductive and respirator, syndrome virus (PRRSV) (minor variables). No significant differences (P > 0.05) were observed for ADG (555 g/day in P group; 567 g/day in V group), FCR (2.64 in P group; 2.41 in V group) and mortality rate (11% in P group; 7% in V group). The average number of additional curative medication days (CMD) per pig was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the P group (1.5) than in the V group (0.58). At slaughter age, the serological results and the prevalence of macroscopic lung lesions were comparable in the two groups (P > 0.05). With the exception of CMD, the preventive use of tilmicosin at this swine farm was found to confer similar beneficial effects to Mh vaccination.

Efficacy of enteric‐coated tilmicosin granules in pigs artificially infected with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 2

“…Through histopathological examination of the lungs, ICG's lungs were severely damaged, with the highest score of 5 according to previous reports, compared with a score of between 1 and 3 in the treatment groups (Ashcroft, Simpson, & Timbrell, ; Mikawa, Nishina, Takao, & Obara, ). These therapeutic effects have been confirmed in previous studies (Hoflack, Maes, Mateusen, Verdonck, & De Kruif, ; Mateusen, Maes, Hoflack, Verdonck, & De Kruif, ; Paradis et al, ).…”

Quantification of the spread of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in nursery pigs using transmission experiments

“…Both diseases cause important economic losses to the swine industry due to reduced growth rate, poor feed conversion ratio and increased susceptibility to infections with other organisms Maes et al, 2003). At the present time, control is mostly accomplished by the use of management strategies, medication and/or vaccination (Mateusen et al, 2001), but optimal timing of the control measures remains a critical point. Knowledge of precise timing of the infection and complete clarification of the transmission of M. hyopneumoniae throughout the herd would make it possible to control the disease in a more efficient way.…”

In vivo assessment of the antipyretic activity of tilmicosin

“…Such neurons integrate degrees of temperature according to afferent signals from inside the body and its periphery (skin) and evoke various behavioural and physiologic responsive activities integrating heat gain or heat loss (Mackowiak, 1997;Vriens et al, 2014). Fever or pyrexia is an abnormal rise in the body temperature after an induced increase in the thermosneutral set-point (Mateusen et al, 2001) by various causes as infections, tissue damages and inflammatory disorders. Upon setting temperature to a higher degree in the hypothalamus, the actual body temperature becomes lower that was set centrally.…”

“…Exogenous pyrogens, such as surface components of microbes as lipopolysaccharides lipopolysaccharides (LPS), induce fever most probably via induction of pyrogenic cytokines capable of functioning at the level of the hypothalamus, in the same way as interleukin-1β (Ramadan, 1997). These signals trigger the release of other mediators, most notably PGE2, in the region of the POAH (Mateusen et al, 2001). Among prostaglandins, PGE2 has been proved to be the downstream mediator of the feverish response.…”