October 1, 2008

Netherlands to launch pig antibiotics database

The Netherlands will launch an antibiotics database trial before the end of the year, pig organisations in the country said.

The database would give insights on the actual use of antibiotics in the pig industry, the LTO, an agri- and horticultural organisation announced.

The announcement was made jointly with the trade union for pig producers NVV.

The database will be linked to network monitoring systems. Eventually, the use of medicine will be registered on the basis of a model for doses per day, developed by Utrecht University's Faculty of Animal Health.

This would allow pig producers to compare the medicine and therefore optimise medicine use.