Antimicrobials examined at Huvepharma congress
During its third veterinary congress in Varna, Bulgaria, Huvepharma examined the responsible use of antimicrobials with attendance from more than 250 veterinary practitioners from all over Europe.
Professor Silley (University of Bradford, UK) took the floor as the first keynote speaker. Correct application starts with the knowledge of how products work (pharmacodynamics) and how they distribute in the animal (pharmacokinetics), he said.
Antibacterial Susceptibility Testing
Antibacterial Susceptibility Testing (AST) can help to choose the right antimicrobial. However it should be performed and interpreted correctly, which is not always the case. Professor Silley highlighted the three pillars of AST: quality control, test method and interpretive criteria. The first two pillars should be guaranteed by the labs, whilst the veterinary practitioner is the right person to interpret the results. Is the antimicrobial also reaching the tissue where the pathogen is located? A pneumonia causing pathogen, for example, might be very sensitive to antimicrobial “A” but if antimicrobial “A” does not penetrate lung tissue, it is not the right choice.
Bringing biosecurity into practice
Dr Carlo Lasagna (Veterinary manager, Martini group, Italy) brought many years of practical experience to the stage with his presentation: How to Bring Biosecurity into Practice. His opening sentence was, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”. He then proceeded with his own experiences to control, prevent and/or eliminate PRRSv, Aujeszky disease, Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and PED.
Florfenicol’s benefit to animal health
Huvepharma has a project to bring a 20% water-soluble florfenicol to the market, and Professor De Backer (University Ghent, Belgium) gave a lecture on this molecule. According to Prof De Backer, “Not being used in human medicine is safeguarding florfencicol’s use in animal health”.
The molecule is well appreciated by practitioners because of its activity against the following pathogens: Streptococcus suis, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Hemophilus parasuis, Pasteurella spp. The pharmacokinetics can be summarized as follows: because of florfenicol’s lipophylic properties, it penetrates extremely well in all tissues. The downside, however, is that it is very difficult to develop a water-soluble formulation.
Worms in pig production
Are worms still relevant in modern pig production? This question was answered by Dr. Alain Kanora (Huvepharma) with a clear “yes”. Dr Kanora gave an overview of all worms that can cause disease in pigs, such as Ascaris suum, Oesophagostomum dentatum, Trichuris suis,… . The main reason for their success is the massive excretion of very resistant eggs. An adult Ascaris suum female, for example, excretes over 200,000 eggs per day.
The congress concluded with a visit to one of Huvepharma’s production facilities, where the different steps of producing a veterinary product, including fermentation and formulation, were explained and shown.
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