Sub-therapeutic Antibiotics and Impacts on U.S. Hog Farms
No hay miniatura disponible
Fecha
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Resumen
Descripción
Antimicrobial drugs are fed to hogs at sub-therapeutic levels to prevent disease and promote growth. However, there is concern that the presence of antimicrobial drugs in hog feed is a factor promoting the development of antimicrobial drug-resistant bacteria. This study describes the extent to which antibiotics are used in hog production and how this changed between 2004 and 2009. This study also uses a sample-selection model to examine the impact that use has on the productivity of U.S. hog operations. Using hog producer data from 2004, the analysis did not find a relationship between productivity and sub-therapeutic antibiotics fed during finishing, but productivity was significantly improved when fed to nursery pigs. These results are being evaluated using similar data from 2009.