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The objective of this project was to construct an estimate of antimicrobial use through the feed in swine production in the United States. Estimates were based on data from the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Swine 2006 Study and from a 2009 survey of swine-exclusive practitioners.
Inputs consisted of number of pigs in a production phase, feed intake per day, dose of the antimicrobial in the feed, and duration of administration. Calculations were performed for a total of 102 combinations of antimicrobials (n = 17), production phases (n = 2), and reasons for use (n = 3). Calculations were first conducted on farm-level data, and then extrapolated to the U.S. swine population.
Among the nursery phase estimates (Table 3), chlortetracycline had the largest production cycle estimate of use (32,741 kg), followed by oxytetracycline (8,426 kg) and tilmicosin (6,696 kg). In the grower/finisher phase, chlortetracycline also had the largest use estimate (204,580 kg), followed by tylosin (72,119 kg) and oxytetracycline (60,444 kg). As an annual industry estimate for all phases, chlortetracycline had the highest estimated use at 533,973 kg. The second and third highest estimates were tylosin and oxytetracycline with estimated annual uses of 165,803 kg and 154,956 kg, respectively.
M.D. Apley, E.J. Bush, R.B. Morrison, R,S. Singer, and H. Snelson. Use estimates of in-feed antimicrobials in swine production in the United States. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. 2012. Vol. 9(3).