THE METAPHYLACTIC EFFICACY OF TULATHROMYCIN ADMINISTERED TO IN-CONTACT PIGS DURING OUTBREAKS OF RESPIRATORY DISEASE
K.S. GODINHO, R. SAMSON,R. M-L.G. WOLF, J. BULLARD, S.J. SUNDERLAND, T.G. ROWAN and V. CRACKNELL

Abstract
The metaphylactic efficacy of tulathromycin administered to in-contact pigs during natural outbreaks of porcine respiratory disease (PRD) was evaluated in six European countries (United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, Slovenia and Denmark) in a masked parallel design study with negative controls. Outbreaks were identified when approximately 25 per cent of animals in a group were exhibiting clinical signs of PRD. Once an outbreak had been established, in-contact pigs (at least 5-12 weeks old) were randomly allocated to treatment by the intra-muscular route with a single injection of either tulathromycin (n=470) 2.5 mg/kg or saline (n=471) in a 1:1 ratio at each site. There were no treatment-related adverse experiences. Across all sites, significantly greater numbers of tulathromycin-treated pigs compared with saline treated animals remained clinically unaffected with no clinical signs of PRD by both 21 days (80 vs. 70%; P=0.0002) and 42 days post treatment (78 vs. 65%; P=0.0007). By 42 days post treatment, mean percentage weight gains were significantly higher for tulathromycin treated pigs compared with saline (113 vs. 104%; P<0.0001). Metaphylactic administration of tulathromycin was found to be safe and efficacious in the reduction of clinical signs of PRD during natural outbreaks amongst growing pigs.

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