Coccidiosis drug for piglets approved in Canada

Wednesday Oct 20 2010
by Manitoba Cooperator

Billed as the first federally-approved treatment against coccidiosis in Canada's hog herds, Baycox 5% is "now available" north of the border, its manufacturer confirmed Monday.

Bayer HealthCare's Canadian animal health division said the drug, a five per cent suspension of toltrazuril, has picked up authorization for treatment of pre-clinical coccidiosis due to Isospora suis in neonatal piglets.

Veterinarian Bruce Kilmer, Bayer's director of technical services and regulatory affairs for its animal health business in Canada, said the launch is significant for its "far-reaching benefits" arising from improved piglet gut health.

"Producers do their best to clean and disinfect, but often it's just not enough. Baycox may provide the extra help needed to get neonatal coccidiosis under control," Kilmer said.

"As a result, producers may also see the benefits of improved gut health –– piglets with better, more uniform growth, fewer co-infections and, frequently, a reduction in antibiotic use in nursing piglets."

According to Bayer's website, the recommended dose of toltrazuril for piglets is 20 milligrams per kilogram live mass -- in other words, a one-millilitre dose of Baycox 5% per 2.5 kg live mass.

Treated swine can't be slaughtered for use in food for at least 70 days after the latest treatment with Baycox 5%. Thus, Bayer advises producers not to use the drug in piglets meant to be used as suckling or barbecue pigs, since they may be marketed before that withdrawal period is up.

The drug is approved in other countries to treat coccidia in chickens, turkeys, cattle and sheep as well as hogs.

Bayer in September projected that Baycox 5% would soon be on the Canadian market, after the product got its "notice of compliance" from Health Canada.

Bayer last month cited a paper presented in July at the International Pig Veterinary Society Congress in Vancouver by Steven McOrist, currently the veterinary research director at the University of Nottingham in England, who studied the use of Baycox on-farm in Romania.

The study of a herd of over 5,000 hogs at a grower-finisher facility found "a significant drop in (coccidia) oocyst count in piglets around weaning in the treated group," McOrist said.

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