Swine dysentery, caused by the anaerobic spirochaete B. hyo, is one of the common enteric diseases of pigs which still causes distress for the affected pigs and severe economic losses, particularly in countries where in-feed antibiotic growth promoters have been withdrawn.
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| Swine dysentery – enteritis and contents of large intestine (blood-streaked mucus, undigested food and necrotic material) |
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Intensive use of antibiotics for treatment and control programmes has led to major problems of clinical resistance to certain antibiotics and such substances cannot be reliably used any more against swine dysentery, e.g. tylosin and lincomycin. Furthermore, in the European Union, in-feed antimicrobials previously used for swine dysentery control such as dimetridazole, ronidazole and carbadox are no longer permitted on account of public health concerns. In addition, in relation to carbadox there are concerns related to potential adrenal toxicity in pigs. [ ?]
Tiamutin resistance in B. hyo develops gradually, both in vitro and in vivo. [?], [?]
Resistance to Tiamutin among B. hyo isolates has been occasionally reported but is rare and it is considered as the antibiotic of choice for flexible and effective dysentery control.
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