167 Evaluation of the relationship between the biosecurity status production parameters herd characteristics and antimicrobial usage in farrow-to-finish pig Research paper – Postma, 2016)

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167 Research paper – Postma – 2016 – Evaluation of the relationship between the biosecurity status production parameters herd characteristics and antimicrobial usage in farrow-to-finish pig

In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity \ Pathogen management
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
This study aimed at assessing possible associations between the biosecurity level, antimicrobial usage and farm and production characteristics in order to advice on best practices for a low antimicrobial usage and maximum animal health and production. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 227 farrow-to-finish pig herds in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden between December 2012 and December 2013. Associations between biosecurity status, antimicrobial usage, and production parameters were evaluated. This study showed that the antimicrobial usage in breeding animals tends to be positively associated with the number of weaned piglets per sow per year and the antimicrobial usage from birth to slaughter (TI 200) in growing pigs. The TI 200 was lower in herds with a farrowing rhythm ≥5- weeks, a higher biosecurity status and tended to be lower with weaning of the piglets at an older age.

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28405435; https://doi.org/10.1186/s40813-016-0028-z
Country: BE; CH; FR; DE; SE; DK

166 The biosecurity status and its associations with production and management characteristics in farrow-to-finish pig herds Research paper – Postma, 2016)

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166 Research paper – Postma – 2016 – The biosecurity status and its associations with production and management characteristics in farrow-to-finish pig herds

In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
This study aimed at assessing the levels of implementation of biosecurity measures in pig production to describe possible associations between the biosecurity level and farm and production characteristics. The study was conducted in 232 farrow-to-finish pig herds in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden, between December 2012 and December 2013. The biosecurity status in each of these herds using Biocheck.UGent. The results showed that the biosecurity on many pig farms was low. Internal and external biosecurity levels differed between countries. The external biosecurity status was highest in Germany and lowest in France. The internal biosecurity status was highest in Sweden and lowest in Belgium. External biosecurity scores were in general higher than internal biosecurity scores. Herds with more sows and more employees were likely to have a higher external biosecurity score. A higher external biosecurity positively influenced the number of weaned piglets per sow per year and the internal biosecurity score.

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26567800; https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731115002487
Country: BE; SE; CH; DE; FR

165 Assigning defined daily doses animal_ a European multi-country experience for antimicrobial products authorized for usage in pigs (Research paper – Postma, 2015)

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165 Research paper – Postma – 2015 – Assigning defined daily doses animal_ a European multi-country experience for antimicrobial products authorized for usage in pigs

In Significant Impact Groups: AMU reduction strategies \ Monitoring and surveillance
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
This study aims to define an agreement to daily dose animal (DDDA) for each active substance (AS) and administration route for swine antimicrobials authorized in four European countries, thus allowing cross-country quantification and comparison of antimicrobial usage data. All veterinary antimicrobial products authorized for swine use in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden were listed per administration route. This study presents an agreement DDDA list for use in the quantification and comparison of antimicrobial use. Four major recommendations are: (i) urgent need for harmonization of authorization and recommended summary of product characteristics (SPC) dosages; (ii) expand the developed preliminary DDDA list to include all authorized veterinary medicinal products in all EU member states and for all (food-producing) animal species; (iii) improved accessibility of country-specific SPC data would be preferable; and (iv) statement of the ‘long-acting’ duration of a product in the SPC.

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25223972; https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dku347
Country: BE; FR; DE; SE; CH

162 Alternatives to the use of antimicrobial agents in pig production_ A multi-country expert-ranking of perceived effectiveness feasibility and return (Research paper – Postma, 2015)

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162 Research paper – Postma – 2015 – Alternatives to the use of antimicrobial agents in pig production_ A multi-country expert-ranking of perceived effectiveness feasibility and return

In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity \ Pathogen management
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
Nineteen alternatives to antimicrobial agents were ranked on perceived effectiveness, feasibility and return on investment (ROI) by 111 pig experts from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The top 5 measures in terms of effectiveness were (1) improved internal biosecurity, (2) improved external biosecurity, (3) improved climate/environmental conditions,(4) high health/Specific Pathogen Free/disease eradication and (5) increased vaccination. The top 5 measures in terms of feasibility were (1) increased vaccination, (2) increased use of anti-inflammatory products, (3) improved water quality, (4) feed quality/optimization and (5) use of zinc/metals. The top 5 measures in terms of ROI were (1) improved internal biosecurity, (2) zinc/metals, (3) diagnostics/action plan,(4) feed quality/optimization and (5) climate/environmental improvements. Combining these results, the most promising alternatives to antimicrobial use in industrial pig production are: biosecurity improvements, increased vaccination, use of zinc/metals, improvement of feed quality and use of regular diagnostics testing and having a clear action plan.

Where to find the original material:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25650306; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.01.010

Country: BE; FR; DE; SE, CH, DK

135 Effectiveness of alternative measures to reduce antimicrobial usage in pig production in four European countries (Research paper – Raasch, 2020)

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135 Research paper – Raasch – 2020 – Effectiveness of alternative measures to reduce antimicrobial usage in pig production in four European countries

In Significant Impact Groups: Specific alternatives \  AMU reduction strategies
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
The reduction of antimicrobial usage (AMU) is in the focus in modern pig production. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of alternatives to reduce AMU at herd level. In a study, 68 farrow-to-finish pig herds located in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden were recruited on a voluntary basis to implement tailor-made intervention plans to reduce AMU. Alternative measures included improvement of biosecurity, vaccination, changes of feeding schemes or drinking water quality, improved pig health and welfare care as well as changes in stable climate and zootechnical measures. Following tailor-made implementation of alternative measures, a substantial reduction of AMU in pig production was achievable without jeopardizing animal health. The AMU reduction in the youngest age categories (suckling and weaned pigs) and the reduction of group treatments via feed and water was in line with the recent European Guidelines on the prudent use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine.

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7050127/; https://doi.org/10.1186/s40813-020-0145-6

Country: BE; FR; DE; SE

134 Profile of pig farms combining high performance and low (Research paper – Collineau, 2017 )

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134 Research paper – Collineau – 2017 – Profile of pig farms combining high performance and low

In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity \ Pathogen management
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
Pig farmers have been advised to reduce their antimicrobial usage because of the threat of antimicrobial resistance. This study investigates the profile of ‘top-farms’, which combine both high technical performance and low antimicrobial usage. A study was conducted among 227 farrow-to-finish farms in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden. Within this study, 44 top-farms were compared with the ‘regular’ farms in terms of farm characteristics, biosecurity and health status. Top-farms had fewer gastrointestinal symptoms in suckling pigs and fewer respiratory symptoms in fatteners, which could partly explain their reduced need for antimicrobials and higher performance. They also had higher biosecurity and were located in sparsely populated pig areas. However, 14 farms of the top-farms group were located in densely populated pig areas, but they had higher internal biosecurity and more extensive vaccination against respiratory pathogens. These results illustrate that it is possible to control infectious diseases with low antimicrobial usage.
134

Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29051316; https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.103988

Country: CH; FR; SE; BE; DE; DK

133 Use of phytobiotics in broiler nutrition – an alternative to infeed antibiotics (Research report – Grashorn, 2010)

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133 Research report – Grashorn – 2010 – Use of phytobiotics in broiler nutrition – an alternative to infeed antibiotics

In Significant Impact Groups: Specific alternatives
Species targeted: Poultry;
Age: Not stated;
Summary:
In poultry meat production birds have to face several challenges disturbing the normal functioning of the organism. Mainly, the gastrointestinal tract may be influenced resulting in weakened absorption of nutrients and in reduced performance and increased mortality. Therefore, in the past antibiotics were supplemented to diets to make birds cope better with harsh conditions. With the ban of antibiotics as infeed growth promoters farmers lost an effective tool to help birds to realize their performance capacity. Phytobiotics seem to be the most promising alternatives to antibiotics as growth promoters as they are of natural origin and as they are generally regarded as safe, although, they contain a broad number of pharmacologically active substances with unknown action. Experiments with various products conducted with broilers up to now show a tendency for improved performance and health status, although the net margin amounts only to few percents in regard to tested control groups.

Where to find the original material:

http://www.jafs.com.pl/Use-of-phytobiotics-in-broiler-nutrition-n-an-alternative-to-infeed-antibiotics-,66297,0,2.html; https://doi.org/10.22358/jafs/66297/2010

Country: DE

132 Application of multiblock modelling to identify key drivers for antimicrobial use in pig production in four European countries (Research paper – Collineau, 2018)

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132 Research paper – Collineau – 2018 – Application of multiblock modelling to identify key drivers for antimicrobial use in pig production in four European countries

In Significant Impact Groups: Pathogen management \ Biosecurity
Species targeted: Pigs;
Age: Young; Adult;
Summary:
Antimicrobial use in pig farming is influenced by a range of risk factors, including herd characteristics, biosecurity level, farm performance, occurrence of clinical signs and vaccination scheme, as well as farmers’ attitudes and habits towards antimicrobial use. So far, the effect of these risk factors has been explored separately. This study aimed to investigate the relative importance of all these risk factors in a sample of 207 farrow- to-finish farms from Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden. The occurrence of clinical signs, especially of respiratory and nervous diseases in fatteners, was one of the largest contributing risk factors in all four countries, whereas the effect of the other risk factors differed between countries. In terms of risk management, it suggests that a holistic and country-specific mitigation strategy is likely to be more effective.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29665870; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268818000742

Country: CH; FR; SE; DE; BE

 

130 Mastitis treatment_Reduction in antibiotic usage in dairy cows (Research report – Kromker, 2017)

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130 Research report – Kromker – 2017 – Mastitis treatment_Reduction in antibiotic usage in dairy cows

AMU reduction strategies \ Specific alternatives
Species targeted: Dairy;
Age: Not stated;
Summary:
Reduction in Antibiotic Usage (AMU) in dairy cows due to mastitis by implementation of smart, evidence‐based selection criteria requires increased diagnostic efforts. When the identification of therapy‐worthy animals as well as treatment‐requiring mastitis‐causing pathogens succeeds in a rapid and reliable manner, the reduction of AMU by ~50% in treatment of clinical mastitis and ~30% in antibiotic dry cow treatment (amount of uninfected cows) is feasible. Progress in the development of therapeutic alternatives and further investigations make a further reduction in AMU seem likely. However, the most effective and contemporary methods for decreasing AMU in dairy production comprise the implementation of evidence‐based mastitis therapy concepts and selective dry cow treatment. Avoidance of wrong decisions with unfavourable long‐term effects and related adverse consequences for animal welfare requires a systematic udder health monitoring of dairy farms.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/rda.13032 ; https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.13032

Country: DE

129 The global threat of antimicrobial resistance_science for intervention (Research report – Roca, 2015)

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129 Research report – Roca – 2015 – The global threat of antimicrobial resistance_science for intervention

AMU reduction strategies \ Monitoring and surveillance; Antibiotic use; Prudent use AB
Species targeted: Other;
Age: Different for different species;
Summary: The current threat of antimicrobial resistance plus the need to control it and find alternatives to currently used antimicrobial products has prompted the different stakeholders to take action in integrating research and public health, maintaining and promoting national and international antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research communities. In summary, the following measures can be taken to prevent emergence and spread of AMR: rational antibiotic’s use, implementing infection control measures at farm level, developing strategies to mitigate the risks for environment of antimicrobial residues, having rapid tests for diagnosis of infections, promotion of research on prevention and surveillance of AMR and developing novel antimicrobial strategies and agents, improving general and public awareness of responsible antibiotic use and risks associated to increased AMR.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446399/; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nmni.2015.02.007

Country: ES, TR, FR, UK, BE, NL, SE, DK, US, IT, IE, MZ, DE, CH,