Sarah Lutz, a third-year veterinary student at Auburn University and summer intern with Zoetis working with Dr. Doug Powers, spoke to The Pig Site’s Sarah Mikesell at the Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Pharmacokinetics in the first hour

While interning with Zoetis this past summer, Lutz and Dr. Powers, a veterinarian with Four Star Veterinary Service, discussed several diseases including Streptococcus suis. Then they started looking at EXCEDE for Swine and how quickly it is absorbed and effective against S. suis.

“We wanted to know how quickly the pharmacokinetics of EXCEDE for Swine occurred,” said Lutz. “Previously published data showed that EXCEDE has a long duration of therapy, but the first time point measured was at one-hour post-injection. At one hour, the plasma concentration was already higher than the MIC90 (minimum inhibitory concentration 90) for Strep suis. The objective of my study was to look at the pharmacokinetics in the first hour after administration of EXCEDE in swine.”

The research project involved using six wean-age pigs and calculated a dose of EXCEDE for Swine at 1 ml per 44 lbs. in accordance with a swine label.

“We collected blood immediately prior to an intramuscular dose of EXCEDE for Swine,” she explained. “Then we measured time points at 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes and used a derivatization method and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography to look at the concentration of the ceftiofur and its active metabolite.”

The results at 15 minutes showed five out of six pigs reached therapeutic plasma concentration levels greater than the MIC90 of S. suis.

“At 30 minutes, all six pigs reached plasma concentrations above the MIC90 for S. suis,” she said.

Benefit for producers

“Producers and practitioners can be confident that EXCEDE for Swine has not only a long duration of therapy, but it also reaches therapeutic plasma levels quickly,” said Lutz. “This was a little faster than expected, which is really exciting.”

Learn more about EXCEDE for Swine.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: People with known hypersensitivity to penicillin or cephalosporins should avoid exposure to EXCENEL RTU EZ. Do not use in animals found to be hypersensitive to the product. Do not slaughter cattle for 4 days following last treatment. Do not use in calves to be processed for veal. In swine, withdraw 6 days prior to slaughter when injection site volumes are greater than 5 mL up to 15 mL per injection site and 4 days prior to slaughter when injection site volumes are less than or equal to 5 mL per injection site. See full Prescribing Information, Excede-for-Swine-Marketing-Package-Insert.pdf (zoetisus.com)