March 23, 2007

US approves Schering Plough's antibiotic for coldwater disease

Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation has announced a new feed antibiotic to offer a degree of protection to freshwater-reared salmonids from Flavobacterium psychrophilum, the bacteria causing coldwater disease.

The antibiotic is the first approved in the US for such treatment. Coldwater disease causes mortality rates of 30 to 45 percent annually in hatchery-reared trout and salmon.

The company said the antibiotic Aquaflor (florfenicol) has been proven worldwide to be effective against a wide range of bacteria in several aquatic species. It also has an excellent safety profile for fish, human food and the environment, the company said.

Trials conducted with the US Fish and Wildlife Service have shown Aquaflor to be highly effective. For example, the antibiotic when used on steelhead trout fingerling afflicted with the disease, reduced mortality by 60-percent, even when treatment was delayed.

The product's short, 15-day withdrawal period also affords flexibility to producers and was developed specifically for use in food animal species.