Abstract
Motive: the Dutch government urges veterinarians in the livestock industry to reduce antimicrobial use, as well as to be more transparent about the legitimacy of this use. The Dutch Royal Veterinary Association (KNMvD) responded with the development of national guidelines for veterinary conduct for various indications in various species. The present guideline has been developed to set out a framework for the justification of antimicrobial use in the treatment of respiratory disease in pigs.
Method: research questions for urgent matters were posed by a panel of practicing veterinarians. A working group of 5 veterinarians and scientists supported by a secretary of the KNMvD is set to work in confidentiality, after having si gned a declaration of conflict of interest. Discussion sessions are held to address specific issues in order to start a review of the scientific literature. The draft guideline is subsequently send out to at least 25 randomly chosen porcine veterinarians and multiple stakeholders and scientists for an external review. The comments of the reviewers are judged on its merits, commented by the working group. Thereafter, the revised guideline is assessed by an authorization committee (3 scientists), according to the AGREE II instrument (a). Finally, the board of the KNMvD will adopt the guidelines for use.
Results: The final guideline will likely be adopted by the KNMvD board in Q1 2015. For the guideline on respiratory disease these major conclusions to the research activities were drawn:
- Literature is extremely biased by industry sponsored studies on drug efficacy.
- There is no scientific evidence available on levels of prevalence or incidence of disease that may help to justify group treatment with antimicrobials.
- Necropsy investigations are an essential tool to differentiate between pneumonia of viral and bacterial origin in the field.
- ELISA or PCR techniques have very little added value for making a diagnosis of acute respiratory disease that may justify the use of antimicrobial use.
- Scientific literature on the use of NSAIDs as complementary to antimicrobials for enhanced treatment effect in respiratory disease is sparse and inconclusive.
a) AGREE Next Steps Consortium (2009). Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) II Instrument. www.agreetrust.org
Original language | English |
---|---|
Publication status | Published - 22 Apr 2015 |
Event | 7th European Symposium of Porcine Health Management - Nantes, France Duration: 22 Apr 2015 → 24 Apr 2015 |
Conference
Conference | 7th European Symposium of Porcine Health Management |
---|---|
Country/Territory | France |
City | Nantes |
Period | 22/04/15 → 24/04/15 |
Keywords
- Porcine/pig
- Health
- Management