ElO-UncMt* Farming, Saturday, August 12. 1995
Poultry Pointers
(Continued from P«fl* E 7)
a better therapy can be made. If
susceptibility testing results for a
certain bacterial problem on a
given farm are known, and' the
problem occurs again, a selection
of drug based on die previous
results can be made pending the
test results on the Current case.
Decisions based on susceptibility
testing can save medication dollars
in the long run.
Waltman presented data col
lected over the last five years on
susceptibility patterns of four
major bacterial pathogens of poul
try, E. coli, Salmonella sp.,
Pasteureljp multocida, and Staphy
lococcus aureus, isolated from
clinical case of poultry submitted
to the GeorgizfPoultry Laboratory.
High percentages of E. coli iso
lates were resistant to ma'ny of the
approved poultry drugs. TTie sus
ceptibility profiles of Salmonellae
were generally better, but still have
areas of high resistance to some
drugs/ Waltman stated that he
believes “much of our resistance
problems that we have today are
due to the fadt that we do not have
other available agents that can be
used on a rotational basis.”
On the other hand, Pasteurella
multocida isolates have shown
little, if any, trends toward deve
loping resistance: Staph, aureus
isolates vary in resistance patterns,
but many of the drugs with action
against gram positive organisms
are still fairly effective. Waltman’s
data did not show any clear trends
toward net increases in resistance
over the last five year period.
• Does antimicrobial use in
poultry promote resistant strains of
bacteria that cause disease in peo
ple? To help answer this question,
Waltman compared his suscepti
bility data with that of several hos-
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pitals in his area, and found major
differences in susceptibility pat
terns. Bacteria of poultry origin in
general showed more resistance to
specific poultry drugs, while the
same species of bacteria from
humans were quite susceptible to
the same drugs. For Staph, aureus,
the poultry bacteria were much
more susceptible than were the
human bacteria to the same drugs.
Waltman concludes, “if we look at
the antimicrobial agents approved
for use in poultry and the situations
in which those agents are the drugs
of choice for human diseases, we
see very few instances where poul
try pathogens would have the
opportunity to pass this resistance
to the respective human
pathogens.”
Dr. R. Greg Stewart alluded to
the general observation that veter
inarians tend to make frequent use
of laboratory culture and suscepti
bility testing in making rational
decisions on treating animal dis
eases. In contrast, their physician
counterparts often prescribe anti
bacterial drugs symptomatically
without benefit of the knowledge
gained by knowing what the exact
organism is and what drugs it is
sensitive to. If clinical improve
ment is not furthcoming, the drug
may be switched to another, again
without benefit of supporting
laboratory tests. This approach
may be more likely to lead to the
emergence of resistant bacterial
strains than a more directed
approach guided by laboratory
confirmation.
• Are there any “new” antimi
crobials on the horizon for use in
poultry? The only new drugs under
advanced development for use in
the US are those in the fluoroqui
nolone class. They are not yet
approved for use in poultry in this
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country, although they are used
quite successfully in humans and
other animal species. At least two
drugs in this class have been used
widely in poultry in countries other
than the US over the last few years.
Dr. John Glisson. a poultry vet
erinarian and scientist at the Uni
versity of Georgia, presented
information on the use of these
drugs. Glisson noted that, “The
fluoroquinolones have an antimi
crobial activity which is ideally
suited for treatment of bacterial
diseases of poultry.” Glisson said
that these compounds generally
work extremely well against E.
coli. Salmonella spn., Pasteurella
multocida, Haemophilus sp., and
Bordetella sp., as well as many
Mycoplasma sp. He pointed out
that although resistance to the new
fluoroquinolones is usually slow to
develop, the poultry industry must
use these drugs in a judicious and
reserved way in o. rler to maximize
and extend their effective life.
They are likely to be the only new
and different category of antibac
terial drug available for poultry for
many years to come.
• What is the future of antibiotic
use in poultry?
Dr. R. Greg Stewart presented a
thought provoking paper on this
subject as the finale of the sympo
sium. He stressed the need for
change in the “pipeline” through
which current and new drugs as
well as vaccines (biologies) are
identified, developed, approved
and regulated. An intense coopera
tive effort between regulatory
agencies and industry must exist in
order to facilitate these changes.
Unless changes occur, the future is
not bright Stewart said, ‘The
industry will continue to search for
alternatives to drug use, preventive
methods, and improvement in
genetic stocks but all th:se doc
trines cannot obviate the legitimate
need for therapeutic agents.”
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PRECISE
ROCKSPRING (Centre
Co.) —Horses and ponies and their
role in Pennsylvania will be fea
tured during die Equine Program
at Penn State’s Ag Progress Days,
Aug. 15-17.
The program highlights Penn
State’s teaching, extension and
youth programs, and calls atten
tion to the $4 billion horse indus
try’s contributions to Pennsylva
nia agriculture.
The Equine Exhibits Tent will
feature infoimative displays about
various aspects of the horse indus
try in the Commonwealth. Video
presentations will highlight
equine educational and career
opportunities and various aspects
of the commercial horse industry.
“Other exhibits and demonstra
tions will showcase Penn Stale's
Quarter Horses and equine teach
ing programs, 4-H and therapeutic
riding programs, horse shoeing,
horse feeds, various breeds and
miniature horses,” said Ben Nolt,
4-H therapeutic riding coordinator
in Penn State’s College of Agri
cultural Sciences.
A variety of attractions is sche
duled in the Ag Progress Days
Horse Arena on all three days of
the event
At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, August
IS, the event will feature a hand
ling and training clinic. Kathy
Brown, manager of Ka-My
Stables in Bellefonte, Pa., will be
on hand to discuss the dos and
don’ts of trail riding. Tuesday’s
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highlights also include breed clin
ics from 10 a.m. until noon and
breed exhibitions from 3 to 4 p.m.
Quarter Horse and Paso Fino
breed clincis will be held Wednes
day, August 16, from 10 a.m. until
12:30 p.m. At 1 p.m.. Centre
County 4-H club members will
conduct a mounted flag presenta
tion. Also, Kathy Brown will con
duct a handling and training clinic
called “Back to the Basics, or
What Makes Your Horse Tick.”
Breed clinics and demonstra
tions featuring Arabians and
Welsh ponies will be held Wed
nesday from 2:30 p.m. until 4 p.m.
Afternoon events also include a
therapeutic riding demonstration
and a performance by the Cum
berland County 4-H Drill Team.
Belgian, Clyaesdale, and Per
cheron horses will be featured in a
breed clinic held at 4 p.m. on
Wednesday. Special exhibitions,
draft horse driving demonstrations
and other events will be held Wed
nesday evening from 6 p.m. until 8
p.m.
Breed clinics for Morgan horses
will be held in the morning and
afternoon on Thursday, Aug. 17.
A training clinic entitled “Every
thing You’ve Wanted to Know
About Competitve Trail Riding,
But Were Afraid to Ask,” will be
held from I p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For more information, call
(800) PSU-1010 toll-free through
Aug. 17.
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