April 21, 2011

Antibiotics use among Danish pig farmers drops

The use of antibiotics among Denmark's pig farmers has declined significantly thanks to the "yellow card" scheme launched by the local authorities in the pig farming industry.

To help pig farmers and veterinarians further the Danish Pig Reseach Centre has compiled a manual "Good antibiotics practice" and launched a major four-year project named "Optimum antibiotics use".

The aim of this project is to bring down antibiotics use by at least 10% among the pig farmers that are participating in the project, and to develop diagnostic tools, the use of vaccines and find alternatives to antibiotics.