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. 2015 Mar 18;10(3):e0119114.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119114. eCollection 2015.

Cross-sectional study on antibiotic usage in pigs in Germany

Lisa van Rennings  1 , Christiane von Münchhausen  1 , Henry Ottilie  2 , Maria Hartmann  1 , Roswitha Merle  1 , Walther Honscha  2 , Annemarie Käsbohrer  3 , Lothar Kreienbrock  1
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Free PMC article

Cross-sectional study on antibiotic usage in pigs in Germany

Lisa van Rennings et al. PLoS One. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

To be able to analyze the relationship between the level of resistance and the use of antimicrobials, it is necessary to collect detailed data on antimicrobial usage. For this reason, data on antimicrobial use on 495 pig farms from entire Germany were collected and analyzed. In Germany, each application and dispensing of medicines to food-producing animals is documented in detail obligatorily by the veterinarian. This information was collected retrospectively for the year 2011. The analyses undertook separate examinations on the age groups sow, piglet, weaner and fattening pig; both the route of administration and indication per active ingredient, and active ingredient class, were evaluated. In total, 20,374 kg of antimicrobial substances were used in the study population. Tetracyclines were used in highest amounts, followed by beta-lactams, trimethoprim-sulfonamides and macrolides. Concerning the frequency of using an active substance per animal, polypeptides were most commonly administered. In all age groups, respiratory infections were the main indication for using antimicrobials, followed by intestinal diseases in piglets, weaners and fattening pigs and diseases of reproductive organs in sows. Over a period of 100 days, the median number of treatment days with one antimicrobial substance for piglets was 15 days, for weaners about 6 days, for fattening pigs about 4 days and for sows about 1 day. A multifactorial ANOVA was conducted to investigate which factors are associated with the treatment frequency. The factors "veterinarian" and "age group" were related to the treatment frequency, just as the interaction between "veterinarian" and "farm size" as well as the interaction between "veterinarian" and "age group".

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Used quantities and treatment units of applied classes of active ingredients for sows.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Used quantities and treatment units of applied classes of active ingredients for piglets.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Used quantities and treatment units of applied classes of active ingredients for weaners.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Used quantities and treatment units of applied classes of active ingredients for fattening pigs.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Distribution of treatment frequencies of sows.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Distribution of treatment frequencies of piglets.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Distribution of treatment frequencies of weaners.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Distribution of treatment frequencies of fattening pigs.
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References

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Grant support

This study was supported by research grants from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Diedersdorfer Weg 1, D-12277 Berlin (Grant No.: FK 1329-441 and FK 1329-482). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.