Skip to main content
The Canadian Veterinary Journal logoLink to The Canadian Veterinary Journal
. 1985 Oct;26(10):312-314, 315-316.

Comparison of Common Antibiotic Therapies for Haemophilus Pleuropneumonia in Pigs

Philip J Willson, A Dudley Osborne
PMCID: PMC1680179  PMID: 17422581

Abstract

Three experiments were done to evaluate some antibiotic therapies that are used commonly to treat pigs infected with Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae. Haemophilus-free piglets, 12 weeks of age, were challenged in a chamber with an aerosol of H. pleuropneumoniae serotype 1 and were medicated with antibiotics at various times before or after challenge. Antibiotic formulations which are commonly used to treat pneumonia in swine were used. They were chloramphenicol, penicillin, and a long-acting formulation of oxytetracycline given intramuscularly; and oxytetracycline, chloramphenicol and spiromycin (investigated as a potentially useful antibiotic) given in solution as the sole source of drinking water. Infection, disease (death, fever, gross lung lesions) and growth rate were measured in pigs following experimental challenge.

The therapeutic effect of these antibiotic formulations was evaluated for prevention of the disease (52 pigs), treatment of acute disease (36 pigs), and treatment of chronic pneumonia (45 pigs). Injectable, long-acting oxytetracycline prevented all manifestations of disease (P<0.05) when given 24 hours before challenge. When treatment commenced immediately after the first signs of disease, each of the injected antibiotics reduced death rate (P<0.05), but they neither improved average daily gain nor reduced the incidence of infection and lung lesions. Chronically infected carrier pigs were produced by first immunizing them with a Haemophilus vaccine and then challenging them three weeks later. None of the treatments reduced the proportion of carriers of H. pleuropneumoniae.

Keywords: Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae, pigs, antibiotics

Full text

PDF
312

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Christensen G. Pleuropneumoni hos svin fremkaldt af haemophilus pleuropneumoniae s. parahaemolyticus iii. Observationer vedrørende klinisk manifestation på besaetningsplan samt terapeutiske og immunprofylaktiske muligheder. Nord Vet Med. 1982 Apr-May;34(4-5):113–123. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Embrechts E. Procaine penicillin toxicity in pigs. Vet Rec. 1982 Oct 2;111(14):314–315. doi: 10.1136/vr.111.14.314. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gilbride K. A., Rosendal S. Antimicrobial susceptibility of 51 strains of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae. Can J Comp Med. 1984 Jan;48(1):47–50. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Libal M. C., Gates C. E. Antimicrobial sensitivity patterns of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae isolates from pigs with pneumonia. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1982 Feb 15;180(4):399–399. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Mason R. W., McKay R. W., Corbould A. Field testing of a killed Haemophilus parahaemolyticus vaccine in pigs. Aust Vet J. 1982 Mar;58(3):108–110. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1982.tb00604.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. PATTISON I. H., HOWELL D. G., ELLIOT J. A haemophilus-like organism isolated from pig lung and the associated pneumonic lesions. J Comp Pathol. 1957 Oct;67(4):320–330. doi: 10.1016/s0368-1742(57)80031-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Schiefer B., Moffatt R. E., Greenfield J., Agar J. L., Majka J. A. Porcine Hemophilus parahemolyticus pneumonia in Saskatchewan. I. Natural occurrence and findings. Can J Comp Med. 1974 Apr;38(2):99–104. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Schultz R. A., Young T. F., Ross R. F., Jeske D. R. Prevalence of antibodies to Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae in Iowa swine. Am J Vet Res. 1982 Oct;43(10):1848–1851. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Sebunya T. N., Saunders J. R., Osborne A. D. A model aerosol exposure system for induction of porcine Haemophilus pleuropneumonia. Can J Comp Med. 1983 Jan;47(1):48–53. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sebunya T. N., Saunders J. R., Osborne A. D. Characteristics of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae Isolates and Some Epidemiological Findings on Porcine Haemophilus Pleuropneumonia in Saskatchewan. Can Vet J. 1982 Jul;23(7):224–228. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Canadian Veterinary Journal are provided here courtesy of Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

RESOURCES