In-feed Denagard is effective in the control of porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) that includes Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M.

hyo)
(Summary of a peer reviewed clinical research paper by Roberts E et al., Journal of Swine Health and Production 20111)

Without an effective control strategy, viral and bacterial pathogens in conjunction with M. hyo can cause increased morbidity and mortality, resulting in poor performance and associated increases in costs in commercial pig production.

Key Points
l Clinical respiratory disease associated with porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) that includes Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyo) is characterised by decreased growth rates, decreased feed efficiency, anorexia, fever, cough, dyspnoea and mortality l Although viral initiators are not responsive to antibiotics, the bacterial components of PRDC can be minimised with antibiotics resulting in less severe clinical signs, better lesion resolution and better performance l In this investigation, in-feed treatment with Denagard (tiamulin hydrogen fumerate) produced a clinical benefit both in pigs experiencing PRDC, and in those experimentally challenged with M. hyo

Background
M. hyo is a highly prevalent component of PRDC that damages the ciliated epithelium of the airways of the lower respiratory tract, causing coughing and predisposing animals to secondary bacterial infection Two studies were conducted to evaluate tiamulin administered infeed for 14 days for the control of PRDC that includes M. hyo In Study One, 219 nursery pigs (6-8 weeks old) were multisourced from two herds affected by clinical PRDC. Pathogens identified included M. hyo, PRRSv, PCV-2 and PRDC bacteria In Study Two, 180 single-sourced nave pigs (6 weeks old) were challenged with M. hyo Clinical parameters evaluated included treatment success (defined as a pig having a body temperature <40C in conjunction with respiratory and depression scores <2 on day 17), pneumonia lesions score, mortality and coughing Production parameters evaluated included ADG (average daily gain), ADFI (average daily feed intake) and FCE (feed conversion efficiency)

Treatment
Two studies were performed, each of 17 days duration In both studies there were three groups of pigs, which were treated during Days 1 to 14: Group 1: Untreated control Group 2: In-feed tiamulin 137.5ppm Group 3: In-feed tiamulin 165.0ppm In Study One, four pigs were necropsied to confirm PRDC once 5% of the animals demonstrated clinical signs consistent with respiratory disease and a body temperature >40C. On confirmation of PRDC pigs were randomised to treatment In Study Two, pigs were challenged with M. hyo, then three days later ranked by weight within sex and allocated to a treatment group. Treatment was initiated once M. hyo infection was confirmed by necropsy (minimum 5% lung lesions) General health observations were performed once daily in Study One and twice daily in Study Two, from receipt through to study termination (Day 17) On Day 17 all pigs were necropsied in order to determine total percent pneumonia lesion score

Results infection rates

In Study One, 14% of the study population was deemed clinically ill on Day 1. By study conclusion, necropsy data and clinical parameter changes supported the establishment of an adequate clinical manifestation of PRDC (73% of pens positive for viral and bacterial agents consistent with PRDC) In Study Two, bacterial isolation at study termination necropsy confirmed that 100% of pigs were positive for M. hyo infection

Results clinical parameters

In both studies on necropsy, pigs treated with tiamulin had a significantly lower total percentage of pneumonia lesions than untreated controls (see Figure 1) In Study One, pigs exhibiting clinical signs of PRDC and treated with tiamulin 165.0ppm showed significantly better treatment success than untreated controls (see Figure 2) Also in Study One, all pigs treated with tiamulin survived to study termination, but there was a 5% mortality rate in the untreated control group. This difference was significant (p<0.05)

Figure 1: Reduction in pneumonia lesions in pigs affected with PRDC (Study One) or challenged with M. hyo (Study Two), and treated with in-feed tiamulin
25 Percentage pneumonia lesions 20 15 10 5 0
tiamulin tiamulin tiamulin tiamulin 137.5ppm 137.5ppm 165.0 ppm 165.0 ppm (n=48) (n=60) (n=48) (n=60)

Figure 2: Treatment success in tiamulin-treated pigs compared with untreated controls (Study One)

24.1

22.4
b

100 88.3b 80 Percentage of pigs

16.0 9.7
a

66.1 60 53.3

11.1

11.8

40

20

Control 0ppm (n=60)

Control 0ppm (n=48)

0
Control 0ppm (n=60) tiamulin 137.5ppm (n=60) tiamulin 165.0ppm (n=60)

a = Value in a row differed significantly from Control (p<0.001) b = Value in a row differed significantly from Control (p<0.05)

a = Value in a row differed significantly from group treated with tiamulin 165.0ppm (p<0.05) b = Value in a row differed significantly from Control (p<0.001)

Figure 3: Regression analysis of the number of pigs coughing in the morning (am) for each treatment group in Study Two from Day 0 (M hyo challenge) to Day 17 (study termination). Morning observations were performed before noon, and afternoon (pm) observations were performed after noon, with am and pm observations 4 hours apart. The am data were transformed using power = 2 and pm data were natural log transformed to linearize the data, and then were analyzed separately (regression analysis). Rate of increase in am coughs over time differed between tiamulin hydrogen fumerate (THF) at 137.5 ppm and Controls (0 ppm THF; P < .01), between THF at 165.0 ppm and Controls (P < .05), and between THF at 165.0 ppm and THF at 137.5 ppm (P < .01). Rate of increase in pm coughs over time did not differ among the groups.

500 Square of cough count 500 400 300 200 100 0

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Control (THF 0 ppm) THF 137.5 ppm THF 165.0 ppm Linear (Control; THF 0 ppm) Linear (THF 137.7 ppm) Linear (THF 165.0 ppm)

Study day

In Study Two, pigs treated with tiamulin had a significantly lower rate of increase in the number of

morning coughs over time than did the untreated control animals (see Figure 3)

Results production parameters

In both studies, the groups treated with tiamulin showed better performance (ADG, ADFI and FCE) than the control groups over the 17day study (see Table 1) Although the 17-day study timeframe did not allow statistical significance in production parameters to be reached, it is expected that statistically

significant differences may have been observed if these had been assessed through to market weight (120kg), during which time the pigs would have more fully recovered from the respiratory disease

hyopneumoniae, by the clinical effects respiratory disease.

mitigating of the

References:
Roberts E et al., (2011): Investigation of tiamulin hydrogen fumerate in-feed antibiotic for the control of porcine respiratory disease complex that includes Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. J Swine Health Prod 2011;19(4): 218-225.

Conclusion
This investigation shows that Denagard in-feed treatment has a beneficial impact on grow-finish pigs infected with PRDC that includes Mycoplasma

Table 1: Production parameters in grow-finish pigs with PRDC (Study One) or challenged with M. hyo (Study Two)
Study One Mean production parameter ADG (kg) ADFI (kg) FCE Control 0ppm n=60 0.31 0.56 1.85 tiamulin 137.5ppm n=60 0.34 0.63 1.82 tiamulin 165.0ppm n=60 0.35 0.61 1.75 Control 0ppm n=48 0.91 2.07 2.33 Study Two tiamulin 137.5ppm n=48 0.96 2.15 2.27 tiamulin 165.0ppm n=48 0.94 2.10 2.26

Key Benefits
l Denagard in-feed treatment significantly reduced pneumonia lesions in pigs affected with PRDC and compromised by the presence of known viral pathogens. This was also true for animals experimentally challenged with M. hyo, compared to untreated animals l Denagard in-feed treatment significantly reduced the mortality rate in pigs affected with PRDC compared with the untreated control group l Pigs challenged with M. hyo and treated with Denagard in-feed had a significantly lower rate of increase in the number of morning coughs over time compared to untreated animals l Denagard in-feed treatment is effective in the control of porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) that includes Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyo) l Denagard in-feed treatment is also beneficial to production performance

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