Comparison of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) for Blanket and Selective Antimicrobial Dry Cow Therapy on Conventional and Organic Farms
Antimicrobial use in livestock production is a controversial subject. While antimicrobials should be used as little as possible, it is still necessary, from both an animal health and welfare point of view, to treat infected animals. The study presented here aimed to analyse antimicrobial use on Aust...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/707 |
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| author | Clair L. Firth Annemarie Käsbohrer Christa Egger-Danner Klemens Fuchs Beate Pinior Franz-Ferdinand Roch Walter Obritzhauser |
| author_facet | Clair L. Firth Annemarie Käsbohrer Christa Egger-Danner Klemens Fuchs Beate Pinior Franz-Ferdinand Roch Walter Obritzhauser |
| author_sort | Clair L. Firth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Antimicrobial use in livestock production is a controversial subject. While antimicrobials should be used as little as possible, it is still necessary, from both an animal health and welfare point of view, to treat infected animals. The study presented here aimed to analyse antimicrobial use on Austrian dairy farms by calculating the number of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) administered per cow and year for dry cow therapy. Antimicrobial use was analysed by production system and whether farmers stated that they used blanket dry cow therapy (i.e., all cows in the herd were treated) or selective dry cow therapy (i.e., only cows with a positive bacteriological culture or current/recent history of udder disease were treated). A statistically significant difference (<i>p</i> < 0.001) was determined between antimicrobial use for blanket (median DCD<sub>vet</sub>/cow/year: 0.88) and selective dry cow therapy (median DCD<sub>vet</sub>/cow/year: 0.41). The difference between antimicrobial use on conventional and organic farms for dry cow therapy as a whole, however, was not statistically significant (<i>p</i> = 0.22) (median DCD<sub>vet</sub>/cow/year: 0.68 for conventional; 0.53 for organic farms). This analysis demonstrates that selective dry cow therapy leads to a lower overall use of antimicrobials and can assist in a more prudent use of antimicrobials on dairy farms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:44:47Z |
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| id | doaj.art-dd1cce0a3f984e65970daeeba47caa2f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:44:47Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-dd1cce0a3f984e65970daeeba47caa2f2022-12-22T01:41:06ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152019-09-0191070710.3390/ani9100707ani9100707Comparison of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) for Blanket and Selective Antimicrobial Dry Cow Therapy on Conventional and Organic FarmsClair L. Firth0Annemarie Käsbohrer1Christa Egger-Danner2Klemens Fuchs3Beate Pinior4Franz-Ferdinand Roch5Walter Obritzhauser6Unit of Veterinary Public Health & Epidemiology, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, AustriaUnit of Veterinary Public Health & Epidemiology, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, AustriaZuchtData EDV-Dienstleistungen GmbH, 1200 Vienna, AustriaData, Statistics and Risk Assessment, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), 8010 Graz, AustriaUnit of Veterinary Public Health & Epidemiology, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, AustriaUnit of Veterinary Public Health & Epidemiology, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, AustriaUnit of Veterinary Public Health & Epidemiology, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, AustriaAntimicrobial use in livestock production is a controversial subject. While antimicrobials should be used as little as possible, it is still necessary, from both an animal health and welfare point of view, to treat infected animals. The study presented here aimed to analyse antimicrobial use on Austrian dairy farms by calculating the number of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) administered per cow and year for dry cow therapy. Antimicrobial use was analysed by production system and whether farmers stated that they used blanket dry cow therapy (i.e., all cows in the herd were treated) or selective dry cow therapy (i.e., only cows with a positive bacteriological culture or current/recent history of udder disease were treated). A statistically significant difference (<i>p</i> < 0.001) was determined between antimicrobial use for blanket (median DCD<sub>vet</sub>/cow/year: 0.88) and selective dry cow therapy (median DCD<sub>vet</sub>/cow/year: 0.41). The difference between antimicrobial use on conventional and organic farms for dry cow therapy as a whole, however, was not statistically significant (<i>p</i> = 0.22) (median DCD<sub>vet</sub>/cow/year: 0.68 for conventional; 0.53 for organic farms). This analysis demonstrates that selective dry cow therapy leads to a lower overall use of antimicrobials and can assist in a more prudent use of antimicrobials on dairy farms.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/707antibioticsdry cow therapycattleprudent usedairyveterinary |
| spellingShingle | Clair L. Firth Annemarie Käsbohrer Christa Egger-Danner Klemens Fuchs Beate Pinior Franz-Ferdinand Roch Walter Obritzhauser Comparison of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) for Blanket and Selective Antimicrobial Dry Cow Therapy on Conventional and Organic Farms Animals antibiotics dry cow therapy cattle prudent use dairy veterinary |
| title | Comparison of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) for Blanket and Selective Antimicrobial Dry Cow Therapy on Conventional and Organic Farms |
| title_full | Comparison of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) for Blanket and Selective Antimicrobial Dry Cow Therapy on Conventional and Organic Farms |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) for Blanket and Selective Antimicrobial Dry Cow Therapy on Conventional and Organic Farms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) for Blanket and Selective Antimicrobial Dry Cow Therapy on Conventional and Organic Farms |
| title_short | Comparison of Defined Course Doses (DCD<sub>vet</sub>) for Blanket and Selective Antimicrobial Dry Cow Therapy on Conventional and Organic Farms |
| title_sort | comparison of defined course doses dcd sub vet sub for blanket and selective antimicrobial dry cow therapy on conventional and organic farms |
| topic | antibiotics dry cow therapy cattle prudent use dairy veterinary |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/707 |
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