Use of antibiotics in swine production in the light of new FDA guidelines

Abstract Text: Group sow housing has been the predominant industry social issue in regards to modern swine production and the regulation of antibiotics usage in the swine industry is quickly becoming the next issue with societal implications.  Although there is no definitive link between use of antibiotics in production animal medicine and the increase in resistance in human medicine, there has been strong societal pressures for the government to intervene.  The FDA has responded by releasing two guidance’s for the U.S. swine industry designed to limit the amount of antibiotics used as well as enacting more veterinary oversight into the use of antibiotics, particularly for growth promotion.  FDA Guidance #209 and #213 are designed to limit the use of medically important (human) antibiotics in animal agriculture.  The scope of the limitation was to prohibit the use of medically important antibiotics for growth promotion or for improvement in feed efficiency.   It states, that under veterinary guidance, the use of medically important antibiotics for treatment and control.  It is also allowed for prevention as long as certain criteria are met such as evidence of efficacy, it is an accepted veterinary practice, no practical alternatives are available, and targets a specific etiologic agent. The guidance also states the importance for veterinary consultation for the use of any medically important antibiotics in modern agriculture.  Essentially, it will eliminate the over the counter (OTC) use of medically important antibiotics, thereby requiring veterinary oversight to be able to use them.  With both of these regulations, there is a 3 year grace period before they are officially enacted, which means 2016 will be when these guidance’s become law.  In preparation to meet these new regulations, our company has begun the process of updating our production practices.  The focus of this presentation will be on discussing the antibiotic program changes that have been implemented to meet the criteria of the Guidance documents.  Examples from our nursery and grow-finish production system evaluations will be shared with the audience.

Keywords: antibiotics, swine production, FDA guidelines