Types of Antibacterial Medicine
Aminoglycosides(132) These antibiotics contain sugars and include:
- Apramycin (Apralan)
- Framycetin (Framomycin)
- Gentamicin (Pangram)
- Neomycin (Neobiotic)
- Spectinomycin (Spectam)
- Streptomycin (Devomycin)]
They are very active against gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli and are used to treat piglet scours and to control bacteria in the digestive tract. They are bactericidal and are poorly absorbed from the intestinal tract. The use of streptomycin is banned in some countries.
Cephalosporins
Penicillins
Quinolones
Sulphonamides
Tetracyclines
Other Antibacterial Medicines
Nitrofurans - These are mainly active against gram-negative organisms found in the intestinal tract and are available for feed medication.
Most of these medicines are poorly absorbed from the intestine and are therefore given by injection. They include:
Macrolides Pleuromutilins and Lincosamides
This group includes:
They are mainly active against gram-positive bacteria and specifically act against mycoplasma such as M. hyopneumoniae the cause of enzootic pneumonia. Tiamulin, tylosin and lincomycin are active against Brachyspira hyodysenteriae the cause of swine dysentery. Chloramphenicol is also a member of this group but its use in food producing animals has been banned in some countries. Tiamulin, tilmicosin, tylosin and lincomycin are bacteriostatic.
There are three types:
All the penicillins are bactericidal.
These medicines are new to veterinary medicine. Enrofloxacin (Baytril) is used in pigs. They are very active against gram-positive and negative organisms and thus of value in both respiratory and enteric disease.
There are approximately thirty different ones available but the common ones used in pigs are sulphadimidine (also called sulphamezathine) and sulphadiazine. The former recycles in the environment via faeces and can be responsible for tissue residue failures at slaughter particularly in the kidneys. Sulphonamides are often combined with synthetic substances called trimethoprim and baquiloprim. They are then termed potentiated sulphonamides and have a wider spectrum of activity. Sulphonamides are bacteriostatic but have a wide range of activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms and they are also active against chlamydia, toxoplasma and coccidia spp.
These antibiotics are produced from streptomyces fungi and are widely used in pig medicine. Tetracyclines include oxytetracycline (OTC) and chlortetracycline (CTC). They have a wide range of activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. They are bacteriostatic at low levels but may become bactericidal at high doses and are used in respiratory diseases and secondary bacterial infections. The common ones are OTC (terramycin) and CTC (aureomycin).
Dimetridazole (Emtryl) - This may be used either in feed or water. It acts mainly on anaerobic bacteria and it used specifically in swine dysentery and colitis.
They all may be bactericidal or bacteriostatic.
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