Antimicrobial use on Italian Pig Farms and its Relationship with Husbandry Practices

Animals

Paola Tomao¹  Nicoletta Vonesch¹  Alessandro Mannelli²  Andrea Santini³  Dario Pasqualin³  Jacopo Tarakdjian³  Giovanni Cunial³  Katia Capello³  Guido Di Martino³  Annalisa Scollo⁴ 

[1] Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy;Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy;Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy;Swivet Research, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy;

关键词: amu;    swine;    ddd;    cia;    tail biting;    management;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ani10030417

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The analysis of antimicrobial use (AMU) data in livestock allows for the identification of risk factors for AMU, thereby favoring the application of responsible AMU policies on-farm. Herewith, AMU in 36 finishing pig farms in northern Italy from 2015−2017 was expressed as defined daily doses for Italian pigs (DDDita) per population correction unit (DDDita/100kg). A retrospective analysis was then conducted to determine the effects of several husbandry practices on AMU. Overall, AMU ranged between 12 DDDita/100kg in 2015 and 8 DDDita/100kg in 2017, showing no significant trends, due to the large variability in AMU between farms. However, a 66% AMU reduction was observed in 19 farms during 2015-2017. Farm size, number of farm workers, air quality, average pig mortality, and presence of undocked pigs on the farm had no significant effects on AMU. Rather, welfare-friendly farms had 38% lower AMU levels (p < 0.05). In conclusion, animal welfare management seems to be relatively more important than farm structure and other managerial characteristics as drivers of AMU in finishing pig farms.

【 授权许可】

Unknown