The synergistic activity of tiamulin and chlortetracycline: in-feed treatment of bacterially complicated enzootic pneumonia in fattening pigs

The antibacterial effects of a combination of tiamulin and chlortetracycline in vitro against a number of field isolates of Pasteurella multocida, Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae and Bordetella bronchiseptica were examined. There was a marked synergism between the two antibiotics against all eight isolates of P multocida, against seven of nine isolates of H pleuropneumoniae and against the single strain of B bronchiseptica tested. Two field trials were carried out on a herd with a history of complicated enzootic pneumonia where the presence of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and P multocida had been established and subsequently the presence of H pleuropneumoniae was discovered. Feed containing tiamulin at 100 ppm combined with chlortetracycline at 300 ppm was given for seven days to pigs affected with pneumonia, and the results were compared with untreated controls and pigs receiving chlortetracycline at 300 ppm. There was a follow-up observation period of three weeks when all groups received unmedicated feed. During the medication period the combination treated groups showed a statistically significant increase in average daily weight gain of 156 g (20.4 per cent) and in feed conversion efficiency of 0.576 (20.8 per cent) and a numerical improvement in average disease score in comparison with the untreated controls. These improvements were approximately double those observed in the groups treated with 300 ppm chlortetracycline which showed improvements of 93 g (12.2 per cent) in average daily gain and 0.301 (10.9 per cent) in feed conversion efficiency. During the following three weeks most of the initial gains were lost, probably owing to the reinfection of the treated groups by the untreated controls.