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New insights into antibiotic resistance in pigs
Information on the development of resistance in E.coli in relation to antibiotic treatments in commercial pigs is scarce.
Researchers assess resistance to E.coli in relation to antibiotic treatments

A study has revealed new insights into the development and persistence of antibiotic resistance in pigs.

Writing in the journal Preventative Veterinary Medicine, researchers describe an assessment of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli (E.coli) isolated from pigs during their lifespan.

Between 2014 and 2016, the team followed 406 pigs from 29 commercial breeding herds from birth to slaughter and documented their antibiotic treatments. They collected faecal samples from the pigs once while suckling, once after weaning and three times during fattening. They also collected faecal samples from the pigs’ dams around the time of farrowing.

Researchers found that 264 animals from 19 breeding herds were treated with an antibiotic at least once in their lifetime (65 per cent). Beta-lactams, tetracyclines and colistin were the antibiotics used most frequently. They also found that resistance was higher for beta-lactam, tetracyclines or macrolide-treated pigs, compared to animals that had not received treatment.

In pigs not treated with the respective antibiotics, the probability of isolates being resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline or azithromycin changed significantly over time, the authors note, with the probability increasing at weaning.

In European countries, 88 per cent of pigs are treated with antibiotics at least once during their lifetime. But information on the development of resistance in E.coli in relation to antibiotic treatments in commercial pigs is scarce.

‘Reducing antibiotic resistance in sows might lead to a lower level of beta-lactam or macrolide-resistant E. coli among their progeny,’ the authors conclude. ‘To preserve treatment options for bacterial infections, antibiotic use should be restricted to necessary cases.’

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Cold-water dip to raise funds for Vetlife

News Story 1
 The veterinary mental health charity Vetlife is inviting the veterinary community to join it for a sponsored cold-water dip.

The event will take place at Walpole Bay, Margate, on 17 May during Mental Health Awareness Week. Participants of all abilities can join in the challenge and are advised to bring a towel, a hot drink, a snack, and warm clothes to get changed into afterwards.

Those taking part are being asked to try to raise 100 each to support the work of the charity.

Details about how to take part can be found here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue low vector period ends

In an update to its bluetongue guidance, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the seasonal low vector period for the disease has ended.

With winter over, Defra is planning for a possible increase in cases as midges become more active. It has warned that farms along the east coast of England from Norfolk to Kent, and along the south coast from Kent to Devon, are at highest risk from infected midges blown over from northern Europe.

Since the virus was detected in England in November 2023, there have been 126 confirmed cases. The most recent case to be confirmed was on 1 March 2024.

Farmers are asked to continue to frequently monitor their livestock and ensure their animals and land are registered with the Animal and Plant Health Agency.